477 
•R5" 



l♦♦♦♦<•♦♦♦«8«^♦♦♦♦♦♦♦<«>♦<K♦♦♦H•<'"M«J«^^^ 



X 



Nine Months On 
A Cruise 

AND EXPERIENCES IN NICARAGUA 



T 

I 
I 
I 

Y 

X 

T 
t 

r 

t 

t 
y 

? 



t 
t 

5* 

y 




f 
t 



♦ 



t 
I 




^ n 



Class- G ^1 
Book. U— ^ 



(jopyrigMl^^- 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



Digitized by the Internet Archive 
in 2011 with funding from 
The Library of Congress 



http://www.archive.org/details/ninemonthsoncruiOOrich 



Nine Months On 
A Cruise 

AND EXPERIENCES IN NICARAGUA 

-BY- 



WILLIAM E. RICHMOND 

h 

Chief Yeoman, U. S. N. 



Author oL"A Glance at the Panama Canal," "Halemaumau" 
(The House of Everlasting Fire), Etc. 



^¥^ 



SAN DIEGO 
PUBLISHED ON BOARD THE U. S. S. CALIFORNIA 

1912 






Copyright, 1912 

by 
William E. Richmond 



Printed on board the 
U. S. S. California 

(gClA330960 



THE EXCUSE FOR THIS 

We sailors are expected, as a matter of course, to spin 
yarns about our lives and experiences. 

Many of my readers have doubtless heard of the man-o'- 
wars-man who, after his return from a voyage around the 
world, regaled his mother with tales of the sights he had seen. 
He told her of the time his ship anchored in the Red Sea and 
how, when the anchor was hoisted, they found a wheel of one 
of Pharaoh's Chariots hanging to a fluke — and the dear old lady 
never batted an eye ! But when he told her of having seen 
flying fish — fish that actually emerged from the water and flcAv 
in the air — she said, with a reproachful look, "John, you should 
not attempt to deceive your old mother ! ' ' 

Our relatives and friends are alwaj-s interested in what 
we did, and what we saw, on "Our last cruise," and many of 
us have not the gift of word painting. To those, I hope this 
little book may, in some small measure, be a help in placing 
before other eyes the scenes through which we have wandered. 
And the yarn spinner, too — when mother doubts the wonders 
of Honolulu. Manila, Shanghai or Yokohama, that are being 
moving-pictured before her eyes — ma}^ open the book to place, 
time and circumstance, and see in her eyes the rising doubt 
give way to proud relief. 

W. E. R. 







C 
ir> 

CO 

n 
> 
r 

O 

Z 

> 




NINE MONTHS ON A CRUISE 



Being a history of the cruise of the U. S. S. California 

from November 1 5, 1 9 1 1 to August 1 5, 1 912, to 
Hawaiian Islands, Philipine Islands, China and Japan 

CHAPTER I. 

THK HAWAIIAN ISLANDS 

On the night of November 14, 1911, the United States 
Pacific Fleet — consisting then of two divisions, the California 
(Fleet and First Division Flagship) with the South Dakota and 
Maryland forming the First Division, and the West Virginia 
(Second Division Flagship) and Colorado Composing the Second 
Division, — completed Autum Target Practice, 1911. On the 
morning of the 15th the Fleet assembled in the harbor of San 
Diego, Cal., everyone expecting that we would there complete 
preparations for the voyage to Honolulu for which orders had 
been issued from time to time and which though delayed by un- 
foreseen occurrences was to be made after the completionof this 
target practice. Somewhat unexpectedly Rear Admiral Chaun- 
cey Thomas, U. S. N., Commander-in-Chief, United States 
Pacific Fleet, received orders, changing and modifying prev- 
ious ones, with the result that at 5:30 p. m. on this day the 
first division left for San Francisco, the second division re- 
maining long enough to take on coal and police up after target 
practice. 

The first division went immediately to Tiburon, arriving 
on the 17th, filled up with coal and then dropped down off San 
Francisco where the}' at once commenced to hustle on stores and 
equipment of all kinds necessary for a possible extended absence 
from a base of supplies. 



NINE MONTHS ON A CRUISE 



Meanwhile, all men whose time expired prior to April 
1st, 1912, were transferred from the Fleet and their places filled 
with men from the Indep endence, Pensacola and Oregon. 

The second division got away from San Diego on the 
17th, arriving at San Francisco on the morning of the 19th, and 
also jumped into the game to grab what they needed to com- 
plete their outfits. 

Amidst all the rush of work, time was found for liberty 
so that all who wished to say goodbye to friends or relatives 
had the opportunity to do so. 

At 5 o'clock on the afternoon of November 21st, the five 
swift cruisers swung into line and moved quietly down the bay 
in column natural order — distance 500 yards, out through the 
Golden Gate and onward over the rolling blue water — heads 
pointed toward the setting sun. 

With everything shipshape above and below we bucked a 
moderate sea at 10 knots, steaming easily along at that speed 
until the recruits might have a chance to discover the first prin- 
ciples of what constitutes perfectly good sea-legs and to learn 
to accomodate their delicate digestive apparatus to the heave 
and surge of the briny deep. 

Many of those who had been in the service for periods 
of but a few days or weeks quickly discovered the effect a ship 
rolling four ways at once has on land nerves., but they had no 
particular reason to feel ashamed as the heavy ground swell 
aided by the stiff breeze blowing made some of the plankowners 
who had been snatched away from their joyous guardo exist- 
ence sit up and take notice. 

Station billets had been issued to the newcomers as soon 
as they came on board so they soon found themselves and 
settled down to make a home of the ship. Routine drills, plen- 
ty of eats, sleeps and ocean ozone, kept things from becoming 
too monotonous. At each meal, and when groups gathered to- 
gether in their part of the ship for a talkfest, speculation was 
rife as to where we were going and why. Extra editions of the 
"Scuttle Butt News" were published at frequent intervals, and 
each number contained the latest dope as to our future move- 



THE HAWAIIAN ISI.ANDS 



ments. As every possible move was anticipated it only re- 
mained to pick the right one for somebody was surely right, but 
who, nobody knew. 

Fleet maneuvers were carried out from day to day, and 
on the morning of the 24th, while the fleet was steaming in 
two columns, the captain of the steamship Wilhelmina request- 
ed permission by wireless to pass through the fleet in order that 
the officers and men might have a chance to catch a glimpse of 
relatives and friends on board who were on their way to Hono- 
lulu. Permission was granted and as she slowly steamed down 
the line every pair of field glasses in the fleet and on the Wil- 
helmina were put in active commission. 

At 4:30 p. m., November 28th, the first division arrived 
and docked at Honolulu. The second division did not arrive 
until 9 a. m. the following day. 

Thanksgiving day was welcome, as always. L,iberty, a 
good dinner, and sports on shore furnished diversion and amuse- 
ment. The Colly beat the Cally 7-2 in their first mixup on the 
diamond for the edification of the Honolulu fans, and that start- 
ed the ball rolling — a number of lively games being pulled off 
eveiy day or two between the ships and local teams during the 
remainder of our stay in this port. 

On December 2d the first Division encircled the island 
of Oahu (on which Honolulu is located,) anchoring at night off 
Waialua Bay. These were the first warships to anchor there 
since, over one hundred years ago, a Russian warship sailed in- 
to the harbor, was blown ashore and wrecked. 

On the evening of December 1st, the marines stationed 
at Honolulu held their annual dance on the roof garden of the 
Alexander Young hotel. All the officers and men of the fleet 
were invited to attend, and we were there strong. The program 
included 20 dances, each dedicated to something connected with 
the service. Music was furnished by two classy Hawaiian or- 
chestras, delicious refreshments were served, and lovely girls 
were there in bunches — nobody that could dance lacked 
partners. This was a joyous and long-to-be-remembered oc 
casion, and the precursor of manj^ more to come, the opening 



NINE xMONTHS ON A CRUISE 



function of a whirl of social gaiety which lasted during our 
whole stay. 

In the midst of this whirl, Admiral Thomas made ar- 
rangements for each of the cruisers to visit Hilo, Island of Ha- 
waii, in order that the ofificers and men might have an oppor- 
tunity to visit the greatest wonder in the world, of its kind, the 
burning pit Halemaumau (House of Everlasting Fire,) in the 
crater of Kilauea — one of the numerous craters on the sides of 
the great volcano, Mauna lyOa. The Maryland was the first to 
go, leaving on the 5th; then followed the 

Colorado on December 9th, 
South Dakota on Dec. 12th, 
California on Dec. 15th, 
West Virginia on Dec. 18th. 

The California distinguished herself on Thursday, De- 
cember 14th, 1911, by making a short but memorable cruise, 
from Honolulu to Pearl Harbor, and being the first warship of 
large tonnage to poke her nose into the newly finished channel. 
Admiral Thomas, unofficially demonstrated to the world on 
this occasion that the passage of the channel from the sea to 
the inner harbor was already possible, although the finishing 
touches had not all yet been given to the channel, and at the 
same time his guests, together with himself had the honor of 
being the first ones to so pass through the channel. 

The actual entrance to the channel was barred by a 
streamer of red, white and blue ribbon supported between two 
small boats, which was carried away by the prow of the Cali- 
fornia at 11:03 a. m. This fact was at once wired to Honolulu 
and an impromptu celebration of the event took place there. 

The inter-island steamers, Helena and Claudine followed 
the California, other smaller boats and launches trailing along 
behind them, and all, being gaily decorated with flags and bunt- 
ing, formed a pleasing water pageant. The gay dresses, leis 
and flowers, worn by the guests on the Flagship and the pas- 
sengers on the boats, added brilliant touches of color to the 
boats placidly gliding along over the sparkling waters be- 
neath a cloudless sky. 



THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS 



Yellow ribbons bearing the inscription in black: 

"U. S. S. CALIFORNIA 

First Warship to Enter 

Pearl Harbor 

December 14, 1911 

Presented by Honolulu Chamber of Commerce." were 
worn by the guests of the occassion, tied around sleeves, about 
hats or perhaps pinned to the^hair or to the bosom of the dress 
of the ladies. 

During the passage of the channel the crowds ashore and 
afloat cheered continually and every noise machine for miles 
around was turned loose. 

The first dredge passed was lavishly decorated with gay 
bunting and bore conspicuously on her side, in large letters, 
the name of the Flagship. When she was directly off our beam 
her crew removed their hats, gave us three rousing cheers and 
fired a salute from a tiny cannon mounted on the dredge's deck. 

Further in on a small jetty near the channel a group of 
young Hawaiians, many standing waist deep in the water, 
waved their hands and shouted in many languages, at the top of 
their voices — all excited about what they were not quite sure — 
only that it was something that required unlimited vociferation. 

Passing the Marine camp the customary salute of 13 guns 
was rendered the flag and returned by the flagship after coming 
to anchor. 

After a light luncheon the guests left the Calif ornia in the 
tug Navajo, landed and explored the site of the future naval base. 
While the guests were ashore the California fired a 17 gun salute 
in honor of the principal guest the Governor of Hawaii, which sa- 
lute was answered by the Marine camp. 

On December 15th, the California left for her trip to the 
crater of Kilauea, arriving off Hilo on the morning of the 16th, 
and at noon the first party left for the wonderful sight. The 
uniform was blues with leggins and heavy shoes. Landing at 
the wharf at Waiakea, a suburb of Hilo, we boarded a special 
train which ran through to Glen wood, a distance of 22 miles, 
without astop. At once we proceeded by auto over the beautiful 



10 NINE MONTHS ON A CRUISE 

9 mile stretch of splendid macadam to the Volcano House, and 
from there some walked, some rode horseback or autoed to the 
brink of Halemaumau. We arrived at the burning pit at about 3 
o'clock. While many stayed by the pit, content to witness its 
wonderful changes in aspect and coloring as daylight disap- 
peared and darkness came on, some w- ho wished to see as much 
as possible in the limited time at their disposal, wandered off to 
the side shows — the extinct craters, tree moulds, sulphur beds, 
steam and heat crevices, etc., to be seen for miles around. Those 
who remained to watch the redhot lava convulsively squirming 
about in the burning pit freely admitted it to be the greatest 
sight they had ever seen in all their sailorizing. What we saw 
was a hole in the ground, or rather lava, irregularly circular in 
formation about 1000 or 800 feet in diameter, filled with a liquid 
heaving restless mass of fiery lava to within 75 or 80 feet of the 
top, and at the time we saw it, approximately 500 feet in depth. 
Some bunch of hot stuff. 

We kept no track of time as we watched the capers of 
Miss Pele (the goddess <-upposed to inhabit the fires of the pit) we 
were so interested in the utterly regardless and careless way she 
tossed her rosy skirts around. 

This awsome sight aroused in the minds of the onlookers 
serious thoughts as they mentally reviewed their past misdeeds 
and looked forward to spending an eternity in some such situation 
as the one at which they were gazing. Many resolved to "Nix 
on the rough stuff hereafter," and the longer they looked 
the more fixed became their determination. The most wonder- 
ful aspect of the glowing pit is presented as it changes its hues 
from the pale ones of daylight to the rosy ones seen as darkness 
falls, when it really appears as the inferno which you of my read- 
ers who have not yet seen it will imagine it to be. Take it all 
around, the crater of a real live busy volcano is one sight that 
must be seen to be fully appreciated, and if we could impress 
those who have not seen it with the fact that it is a sight that 
every ablebodied person in the world should see, the brink of the 
crater would be constantly crowded. Many of the men in the 
parties that visited the crater from the ships went to th^ edge of 




At the Edge of the Lake of Fire (Note waves of moUen lava) 




At the Brink of the Crater 



THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS 13 

the pit and yanked out chunks of the melted lava in which they 
placed coins and allowed the pieces to cool. These made 
the best souvenirs, and next to them, the post cards toasted, 
or scorched in the heat crevices are most cherished. It would 
be pleasant to stay for several weeks in this vicinity, as there is 
enough of interest to occupy one's attention indefinately, and 
the hotel accomodations and climate are excellent."^ 

During our short stay, the people of Hilo did all that was 
possible for our entertainment and amusement, and we shall al- 
ways retain pleasant recollections of them and their courteous 
treatment. The railroad management, automobile company, 
and the proprietor of the Volcano House, got together and 
made special rates of a very modest sum which included all the 
necessary expenses of the trip. 

On the morning of the 19th we left for Honolulu, arriv- 
ing on the 20th, in time to get in the whirl again and join with 
the townies in the preparations for celebrating the holidays. It 
is the custom in Honolulu to get together and hold an outdoor 
fiesta at this time of the year, so that on Christmas Eve, every- 
body that could walk paraded the brightly illuminated down- 
town streets which assumed the appearance of an embryo fairy- 
land. Each lad had a lassie on his arm — some had one on each 
arm and others tagging behind. Unlimited supplies of confetti, 
noise machines, and flowers were much in evidence — principally 
in yonr face or down the back of your neck. The town boys 
had to stand aside that night, unless they masqueraded in sail- 
or uniform, because we certainly were the fashion on that occasion 
at least. What fortunes the candy and ice cream men made that 
night! The goodtime continued until well after midnight, 
when street cars and autos worked overtime to get the dispers- 
ing crowds home — not before, however, many of us had accept- 
ed the cordial invitation extended to dine in the bosom of the 
family of some old, or newly made, friend. 

Christmas morning dawned bright and clear and, before 
it was over, we realized that it was our busy day. Sports start- 

*An illustrated, detailed description of these trips, containing some very striking photo- 
graphs, may be obtained, postage paid, for .50c a copy from: W. E- Richmond, Ch. 
Yec. U. S. Navy, U. S. S. CAIylFORNIA, Pacific Station, via San Francisco, Cal 



14 NINE MONTHS ON A CRUISE 

ed after breakfast and lasted all day, only interrupted by the 
usual corking good dinner. Also in the morning some of us 
had the pleasure of witnessing the distribution by the "Kamaa- 
inas" to the "Malihinis" of presents from the Malihini Christ- 
mas tree. ("Malihini,' — pronounced mollyheenie, is Hawaiian 
for stranger or newcomer — used mostly in the latter sense, and 
"Kamaaina — commaeena, means old resident or oldtimer). This 
tree, which was placed right out in the open, was an enormous 
specimen of its kind, and loaded with gifts for the little ones. 
The hospitality and good will of the Hawaiians (meaning by 
"Haw^aiians" everybody of all races that lives in the islands) 
is thus displayed toward the children of the Malihinis who have 
moved in since the preceding Christmas. Around this tree 
the writer saw children of native, Japanese, Chinese, Cey- 
lonese, Korean, Filipino, Hindu,- Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, 
Swedish, German, English and American, origin — as well as 
mixtures of any or all — and doubtless there were other nation- 
alities present. And such happy little tots they were as each 
was handed a bunch of nuts, a toy horn, and some useful little ar- 
ticle. Never before have we seen such multi-colored happiness, 
nor happiness expressed in so mrmy different ways. Some were 
staid and sober — like little old men and women — in their demean- 
or, yet happiness shone from their eyes; others ran about in vol- 
uble excitement and plainly expressed their delight by word and 
action; and still others stood timidly, with finger on lips in char- 
acteristic childish pose, shyly holding their precious gifts close 
up to their bodies, It was great — almost as good as being a kid 
again yourself . Understand, this was not a "charitable" tree, 
but an expression of goodwill from the oldtimers to the newcom- 
ers — one of the little things that justly entitles the oldtimers to 
call their little burg the "Paradise of the Pacific. ' ' 

The trucks and yardarms of the ship were tipped with the 
customary bit of evergreen, and the messes from the Admiral's 
down were decorated with wreaths, palms and evergreens inter- 
spersed with bunting and flags. To add to our happiness we were 
blessed with two mails from home that hit us just right to allevi- 
ate any pangs of homesickness, one on the 22nd and the other on 



THE HAWAIIAN ISI.ANDS 



15 



Christmas Day. During the'afternoon and evening:, Captain Har- 
low (commanding the California) had big doings in the way of a 
tree, dinner and dance. The quarterdeck of the ship, and even 
the wharf to which we were made fast, was decorated and bril- 
liantly illuminated with colored incandescents. The good Hon- 
olulans who attended will long remember that great time. Santa 
Claus dropped from his biplane long enough to leave them his 
whole cargo of horns and whistles (poor chap had to make a 
special trip for more) and they were faithfully used, as the din 
created proved. 

Our Christmas dinner aboard didn't amount to much, as 
may be readily seen by reading the following: 

Mulligatawny Soup 

Mixed Pickles Celery Olives 

Salmon au Gratin, Tartare Sauce 

Fricandeau of Veal Braized Cold Ham 

Roast Turkey, Sage Dressing, Giblet Dressing 

Stewed Cranberries 



Aspaiagus, Drawn Butter 



Sweet Potatoes 



Assorted Pies 
Cream Cheese 



Combination Salad Cream Cheese Soda Wafers 

Ice Cream, Wine Cake 

Bananas Apples 

Christmas Bags 

Cigars Coffee 

It was better than nothing, however! 



16 N INE MONTHS ON A CRUISE 

On Christmas night the good old Prunepickers made 
merry with many of Honolulu's fairest maidens at a select dance 
given by them in the Young Hotel roof garden. The various 
committees who negotiated the affair to its successful conclu- 
sion, follow: 

Dancing Committee^ — W. A. Zellar, president; B. M. 
Gery, Secretary: H. Sobel, treasurer; W. E- Graeflf, Chairman. 

Committee on Arrangements — W. V. Eeahy, Chair- 
man; E. F. Kidrick, J. R. Corson. 

Committee on Reception — S. McLaughlin, Chairman; 
W. Krickmeyer, J. A. Bowman, J. A. Paul. 

Committe on Decorations — M. D. Conroy, A. T. Fish, 
C. A. Hawkins, W. C. Clayton, B. C. Arnold. 

Committee on Fj.oor — C. Kaiser, Chairman; M. L. 
Francis, E- M. Spring, J. D. Holt, W. W. Eewis, J. Mogart, J. 
W. Robbins. 

Committee on Refreshments — W. A. Day, M. Hooper, 
A. A. Coyle, C. C. Viets. 

The Hawaiian band began a series of farewell serenade 
concerts (which turned out to be a trifle premature) held on 
the quarterdeck of each ship, beginning, on the 26th, with the 
California. These were very much enjoyed by all hands. 

On the 29th, a brigade was landed from the ships of the 
fleet and reviewed by Governor Frear. The boys made a splen- 
did showing and were highly complimented by the Governor 
and all who saw them. On the evening of the same day the Elks 
of Honolulu entertained the Elks of the Fleet and their friends 
with an elaborate smoker in their clubrooms. The highjinks 
were some mellifluous and hugely enjoyed. The program in- 
cluded so many good things (of which the eats and drinks were 
not the least) that it was hard to pick favorites. The "Colorado 
Quartette" was enjoyed as much as the "Hula Hula Girls" 
and the Texas Tommy danced by Master-At-Arms Francis and 
Coxswain Spring of the California was as uproariously applaud- 
ed as the best efforts of the stars of the Hughes Comedy Com - 
pany. Honors were even on a program lasting until 3 a. m. 

But many a good Elk was in a devil of a fix that night 



THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS 17 

because while these jinks were going on at the clubroom, at the 
/oung Hotel across the street almost, the Merchant's Associa- 
tion of Honolulu were entertaining the men of the fleet with the 
swellest kind of a ball. Lovely girls, pretty decorations, royal 
music, brilliant tropical moonlight, delicate comestibles, and 
delicious punch and lemonade, what more could a gob want this 
side of his idea of Heaven? By clever 'management the town 
boys were ruled off the floor until after 10:30, so we had all to 
ourselves for a few hours all the female loveliness of Honolulu! 
The grand march was played by the Royal Hawaiian Band, and 
led by Mr. and Mrs. Swain, followed by Admiral Thomas and 
Mrs. Cowles, Admiral Cowles and Mrs. Thomas, Governor 
Frear and Miss Cowles, Captain and Mrs. Marix, and a long 
line of manofwarsmen each with a beautiful partner made fast 
in the crook of his starboard flipper. Some class to us. What? 

On the evening of the 3Cth the Filipinos serving on board 
the California tendered to their Honolulu friends a dance which 
was held in the Odd Fellows Hall. They furnished their own 
music. Refreshments were served and all had a fine time. 

As the New Year began on Monday, things were pretty 
quiet until midnight but pandemonium broke loose then and 
the youngster was ushered in with proper pomp and ceremony. 
The usual pledges were made by all hands — and broken later in 
quite the usual way. 

The California seemed to be the only live ship in the 
fleet from the noise her charivari party made. 

The first sporting event of the New Year was a race 
pulled between the black gangs of the South Dakota and Mary- 
land, which resulted in the Maryland having more change to 
spend than the South Dakota on January 2nd. 

The usual official calls were made and returned during 
the day, and the "Full guard and band" call kept the buglar 
and them from complaining of lack of exercise. The cooks of 
fleet had to move some too in order get the turkeys the Glacier 
brought us, ready for mastication. 

At about 10:30 a. m, the officer of the deck was startled 
by a hail from over the side, "Ship ahoy, what ship is that?" 



18 NINE MONTHS ON A CRUISE 

and rushing to the gangway he espied bearing down upon our 
port quarter the good sloop of war HORNET, flying the flag of 
the Secretary of the Navy. Immediately the "F'ull guard and 
band" call was sounded and the Hornet rounded to and an- 
chored off our port gangway (the California was starboard side 
to the dock) and Admiral Thomas, his staff, the oiflcers of the 
ship and their guests assembled at the gangway to welcome the 
distinguished visitor and his guests. The Secretary was accom- 
panied by Uncle Sam, Miss Columbia, the Admiral of the Navy 
and the crew of the HORNET (a gunner, boatswain's mate and 
a seaman) who, after their official reception, proceeded to make 
an official inspection of the ship. 

The first act of the Secretary was to present Admiral 
Thomas with an enormous whitewash brush, with the request 
that he immediately have it applied to the crews' conduct books 
of the fleet. His suggestion was gracefully received by Admiral 
Thomas, who was pleased to be able to inform the Secretary 
that, owing to the excellent conduct of the men under his com- 
mand, conduct books were so little needed in the fleet that a very 
small amount of whitewash would readily suffiice to cleanse their 
almost snow white pages. 

The marine guard (seaman guard in this case a.*- the marines 
were ashore in camp) was first carefully inspected, found to be 
in very good shape, and attention was then directed to the con- 
dition of the wine lockers of the ship. These were found to be 
in frightful condition, though scarcely one of neglect, which was 
greatly improved before the party left the ship. Appropos of this 
condition. Uncle Sam remarked to Admiral Thomas, "Admiral 
the popping of guns in time of war is music to my ears only ex- 
celled by the popping of corks in time of peace. ' ' 

Before leaving the ship the Admiral of the navy made a few 
inspiring remarks to the officers and crew mustered aft, to the 
effect that should occasion ever warrant he was certain that the 
modern manofwarsman would give as good an account of himself 
as did those who sailed the seas in the days when the good sloop 
HORNET made history. 

By the time the HORNET had completed the rounds of the 



THE HAWAII AN ISIyANDS 19 

fleet their strenuous labors in making the rigid inspection of each 
ship seemed to have told on their strength and they all developed 
symptoms which would indicate that they had possibly — over- 
eaten! The sporty South Dakota furnished the cast and their 
lashup was great. 

The dinghy was square rigged with a set of sails arranged 
so that a pull on a line would furl them all at the same time. 
This made taking in sail easy. A wooden anchor made fast to 
a fathom of line was hove overboard with appropriate ceremony 
on coming to anchor alongside the gangway. Salutes were fired 
from revolvers inserted in lengths of stovepipe which made pretty 
respectable looking cannon. 

The personnel was as follows: 

Secretary of the Navy Chief Bos'ns Mate McCabe 

Miss Columbia Fireman Peletier 

Admiral of the Navy Chief Bos'ns Mate Sullivan 

Colonel of Marines Coxswain Butler 

Boatswain Bos'ns Mate Shorty Walters 

The Crew Seamen Bedat and Jackson. 

The uniforms were gorgeous caricatures of real ones. The 
pompous and dignified bearing of each member of the party was 
just right. Miss Columbia was a corking beauty, but apparently 
a little fond of the powder puff. The seamen were outfitted 
with a couple of queues — that is, each had one hanging down 
his back — and their actions in immitation of seamen of the old 
school were all to the muster. 

In the evening the Colorado and West Virginia held a 
boxing card on the wharf, to each side of which one of them 
was made fast. The bouts were all good ones and the mixups 
were fast and furious. A capacity crowd from ship and shore 
witnessed the contests. 

Through the local papers the men of the fleet expressed 
their appreciation of the cordial treatment received from the 
good people of Honolulu and wished them all another happy 
and prosperous year. 

Honolulu society tendered to the naval ofiicers and their 
ladies a farewell dinner dance on the evening of January second. 



20 NINE MONTHS ON A CRUISE 

This dance was held in the ballroom of the Moana hotel. 

On the same evening, Sergeant Barry — main squeeze 
sport promoter between the local and fleet athletes — entertained 
over a hundred of the fleet ball players and other sportsmen 
wdtha regular old fashioned luau at Mrs. Puahi's at Waikiki. 
The fun started at about 7 o'clock with a big feed. It did not 
take the guests long to learn to dip a forefinger into the poi 
bowl, twist it around, and then convey to their mouth the sticky 
mess which adhered to it. The tables were f^rowded with roast 
pig, fowl and dog, with a variety of native vegetables as well as 
some we already new. Lest delicate sitomachs might be offended 
the heads of the dogs were placed on the carcasses of the 
pigs and vice versa. This resulted in considerable economy of 
pork! There were plenty of liquid refreshments to wash down 
the solids with and everything went merry as a marriage feast, 
to the accompaniment of music and song rendered by native 
soloists and vocalists. After dinner the guests were treated to 
a Hula Hula dance; seven expert girls showing just how this 
should be performed. This dance is really wonderful when 
seen in its perfection and all the way through to the finish. It 
is very hard work too, for the performers who go through the 
bodily exertion necessary in its execution. It takes more than 
an hour to go through all the parts. The exhibition was very 
much appreciated by those so fortunate as to witness it. 

Anticipating the departure of the fleet at an early date. 
Captain EHicott, commanding the Maryland, gave to the offi- 
cers' ladies and their friends present in Honolula, a farewell 
dinner and dance aboard that j-hip. 

On the 4th, the Marines of the fleet returned to their 
ship from the encampment at Pearl Harbor where they had 
been carrying out rifle practice and shore drills. They had 
great fun one morning when they captured Honolulu from the 
local militia who attempted to defend the city in a sham battle. 

We had all thought to start for the good old U. S. A. on 
the 6th of January, and accoidingly we were in high spirits, 
but the wind was taken out of our sails when, late on the after- 
noon of the 5th we were informed that our sailing from Hono- 



THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS 21 

lulu for anywhere was indefinitely postponed. As the mail was 
scheduled to leave on the morning of the 6th there was a wild 
scramble and much burning of midnight oil, in an endeavor to 
get letters off at the earliest possible moment informing parents,- 
and others, that the fatted calf might develop into an old heifer 
before it would become necessary to kill it for our benefit. 

For a few days, indigo was the prevailing color of every^ 
thing we looked at. Joy was only to be seen on the f&ces of 
those who really believe that Honolulu is the "Paradise of the, 
Pacific." A few jolts of hard graft in connection with Admir- 
al's inspection soon livened things up, howeveff, as everyone 
was kept on the jump with troubles other than their personal 
ones. Because of so many drills, there was little chance of in- 
dulging in sports — it was hard, enough to get in a dash of 
straight liberty now and then. But it was not so long, after all, 
before a stray dance or other social frolic timidly pojced its head, 
above the horizon, and we were soon in the merry whirl again. 
As a matter of fact the good old beef boat Glacier -really was re- 
sponsible for the starting into activity of social life again for, 
on the night of the 11th, her crew gave a jdance at the Seaside 
hotel that was some lalapolloosa (whatfever that nr cans.) . 

Anyway we had a bang up good time that night and for- . 
got all our troubles. 

The Glacier boys gave this dance to revenge themselves on. 
the town people for the good times they had given them, ^nd al 
so to show us of the big ships that size dpsen't always mean qual- 
ity. A livelier bunch than those present on this occassion it 
would be hard to find. One of the pretty features was the 
trees on the lawn brightly illuminated with colored incande- 
scents which were aided, rather than dulled, by the glow of the, 
full moon sailing the cloudless sky overhead. The lawn lies be- 
tween the hotel and the beach, and offers a delightful withdraw- 
ing place betwen dances, as it is sprinkled with summer houses 
and plenty of rustic benches. 

The Maryland's crew will not soon forget the 14th of Jan- 
uary, for OTi that date she was selected to make a fiyifig trip to 
South America, and, consequently they were notified, so far as 



22 NINE MONTHS ON A CRUISE 

possible, to return to their ship immediately. They all got on 
board but four, and they turned up next morning, a very much 
surprised quartet to find their ship gone without them. She 
coaled on the afternoon of the 14th — also took on stores — and got 
off at 5 a. m. the 15th. While the Maryland ran into some hot 
weather and had a pretty quiet time for several months, she has 
since made up for it by a constant chasing up and down the coast 
from Punta Arenas, Chile, to Sound ports up north; (incidentally 
taking the secretary of State to visit Central American ports on 
affairs of state) and as she was all alone as a representative of the 
big ships, she has had things pretty much her own way. Yet, 
we suppose some of her men are kicking because they didn't get a 
chance at this oriental cruise. Lots of us would trade with them! 

Baseball took on a new lease of life when, on the afternoon • 
of the 14th Barry's Beauts put it on the Colorado 4-3 and the 
California slipped one over on the 2nd Infantry team 4-0 in seven 
innings. 

We were taken a little bit unawares by the New Orleans, 
which ship blew in on her way home from China, on the evening 
of the 15th, in order to fill her bunkers with steam producer and 
her holds with canned Willie, to keep her moving over the last 
lap of her long run. Old shipmates had a chance to hobnob, 
as she stayed until the 20th. She took with her our prisoners, 
sick, and a few short timers, when she left, and as she headed 
out toward Farewell Buoy she broke out a homeward bound 
pennant that trailed some four hundred feet or more astern. The 
darned old bands played her off and of course everybody had 
the usual swelling sensation in the thorax when "Home, Sweet 
Home," was reached. That tune ought to be cut out on occa- 
sions like that, but everybody would miss it if it was, so what's 
the use? 

The week ending January 20th might well have been 
dubbed "Social Week" because of the many luncheons, teas 
and dinners given by the officers to their shore friends. Every 
visiting day the ships were overrun with people who wanted to 
get a last look at our combined dining room, bed room and 
shooting gallery. You see, we were all up in the air because 





P^ 




m 


■X 


1 


1-3 


1 


i^H^H 


Bl 



THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS 25 

we didn't know what minute orders would come to make a 
move in some direction, and things looked about as promising 
in one direction as the other. 

The Hamburg- American Line around-the-world steam- 
ship "Cleveland" came in on the morning of the 24th. While 
going alongside the Alakea wharf, at which she was to dock — to 
do this she had to slip in between the wharf and the Colorado 
which was tied up to the naval wharf adjacent — Captain M. N. 
Sanders, veteran pilot of the port of Honolulu, who was taking 
her in, dropped dead at his post on the bridge. The Captain of 
the Cleveland at oiice took charge only just in time to avert 
what narrowly escaped being a serious collision with the Colo- 
rado. As it was the Cleveland scraped the blades of the Colo- 
rado's port propeller enough to brighten them a trifle, otherwise 
there was no damage done. Meanwhile the bands ashore and 
afloat were playing a welcome to the world-tourists and it was 
several hours before it became publicly known that Captain 
Sanders was dead. '' ' 

The Cleveland crowd manifested great interest in the 
fleet, large numbers of them visiting us. 

The South Dakota gave a variation to the usual form of 
ship's entertainment by celebrating her birthday on the 27th. 
Some features out of the ordinary were the more than usually 
elaborate and lavish decorations of the quarterdeck. One of 
the oddest things we ever saw — in or out of a dream — was a 
figure perched on toptside, aft, of the after 8-incli turret. It 
was composed of a complete diver's suit rigged up so it would 
appear like a coachman driving. It had electric lights in its 
"head" and held in its "hands"the ends of two long streamers 
of flowers leading to the muzzles of the great guns. While it 
wasn't labeled, we have an idea that it was meant to represent 
somebody driving the dogs of war. Around the base of this 
turret was a circlet of rifles, with glittering bayonets fixed, 
buried in flowers. Astern of the turret amidships, played an 
illuminated fountain. Aft of that was placed the birthday cake. 
This little trifle of the bakers art was only four feet in diameter, 
a foot and a half high, and weighed but a hundred and eighty- 



26 NINE MONTHS ON A CRUISE 

five pounds. There was enough to go around, though, if you 
didn't try to make a meal of just cake alone — the way some 
children do at parties. Anyway there was another cake, pre- 
sented by Admiral and Mrs. Thomas, and this one had four can- 
dles stuck at rakish angles in the frosting. 

During the last week in January, the fleet went outside 
the harbor in order that certain drills, part of Admiral's Inspec- 
tion, might be completed while the ships were underway. After 
we got through with this we started in routine drills again in 
preparation for Spring Target Practice. 

Some time before, Ivieutenant Keiran and some other 
good sports among us Prunepickers, happened to think that it 
had been a long time since any of the ships had given a good 
show on the quarterdeck, so they got together with the laudable 
intention of showing the Honolulans what an old fashioned 
navy minstrel show looks like. They rang up the curtain to 
a full house on the evening of February 1st. We made a hit 
from start to finish, the liberal applause and many encores hand- 
ed to each star causing them to sit up and wonder if they weren't 
in the wrong place in the navy. 

Honestly they did so well that they surprised even us 
home folks, who were pretty familiar with the work of the 
songsters who had been so faithful in rehearsing. That droll 
Michael — and those fool endmen — and the members of the circle 
who could cause one to laugh or cry as they sang hot rag- 
time or pathetic melody. Mike was interlocutor — and Michael 
is his last, not his first name. Dunham and White, Schiff- 
horst and Keiran, were tambos and bones. The circle, while 
not much on looks — except black looks— were there, as aforesaid, 
with the noise, and Harry Mack played entrancing accompani- 
ments which blended perfectly with their sweet voices. Stone 
was stage manager, and he rolled blithely about his multifarious 
duties, always on the job, so that everything went off without 
any delay. Lieutenant Keiran, in addition to voice-cul- 
turing the whole troupe, to the point of efficiency displayed, 
painted the drop and the rest of the scenery. Midshipman 
Stone directed the stage end before as well as during the per- 



THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS 27 

formance. Pay Clerk Mack was always available for piano 
work at rehearsals. It is thought that Bob White was respon- 
sible for some of the local hits that evoked heartiest laughter. 
Requests that the show be put on in one of the local show houses 
had to be refused on account of the possibility that we mis:ht 
leave any day. 

On the 12th the California took the Colorado and South 
Dakota for a romp around the islands, during which the usual 
routine drills were carried on day and night getting ready for 
target practice, and opportunities were taken advantage of to 
visit some of the island ports out of the beaten track, when stops 
were made. Lahaina, Island of Maui was the first of these. 
The village was small, a few shacks about a sugar mill. The 
next evening we stopped at Kealakekua, on the western side of 
the island of Hawaii. It was almost impossible to find a bottom 
to anchor to, here, until we were close in under a sheer cliff 
several hundred feet high. At this place is located, in a small 
grove of tropical growths, the famous "Cook's Monument," 
erected in memory of Captain James Cook, Royal Navy, who 
discovered these islands on June 18, 1778, and was killed, near 
the spot where the monument now stands, on February 14, 
1779. This monument was erected in November, 1874, by 
some of his fellow countrymen. In the early afternoon a land- 
ing party from the California visited the spot and policed up the 
monument — cleaning out and repainting the black letter inscrip- 
tion — repainting the iron fence — and putting in good condition, 
generally the plot surrounding it. Photographs were taken of 
Admiral Thomas. Captain Harlow, and others standing near, 
and the monument was snapped from every point of view. 

The party enjoyed rambling about in search of bits of coral 
or other treasure trove as souvenirs of the occasion, and in knock- 
ing cocoanuts ofE the trees for immediate consumption. Later 
in the afternoon we all went across the bay to Napoopoo, where 
there was a fine beach, and enjoyed a plunge in the surf. In a 
little village nearby some of our explorers found the ruins of an 
ancient huan, or native temple. Several hundred bluejackets 
turned loose in these places furnished a spectacle never before 



28 NINE MON THS ON A CRUISE 

seen and not soon to be forgotten . 

At 8 p. m. we again got underway and stood around to 
Hilo on the other side of the island — just about opposite Kea- 
lakekua — arriving there at 9:30 the next morning. This was 
our second visit to Hilo and we were glad to see again some of 
the pleasant people who gave us such a good time when we 
were first here. They turned to with a will to furnish entertain- 
ment for us. Again this visit furnished an opportunity for many 
who did not make the trip to Kilauea the last time, to do so 
now. A number of us who had made the trip before went again 
and many of us would make still another trip if we had the 
chance. At this time the lava was about 300 feet lower than 
on our previous visit, but it was just as interesting as ever, per- 
haps more so because of the changes that had occured. When 
the burning mass sinks to a low level, great masses of the laya^ 
which had been thrown up and cooled, forming temporary walls 
fallback into the pit. This makes it unsafe to linger about the 
brink of the pit. 

Several ball games were played, and a dance was given 
us in the armory. 

On the 18th we left for Kahului, arriving at 9:30 the fol- 
f owing morning. There was a small village here and several 
sugar mills and refineries. We did not land here as we stayed 
but a short time and then went on our way back to Honolulu 
where we arrived at 7 in the morning of the 19th. Because of 
our long stay at Honolulu, we felt somewhat as if we had gotten 
home when we got back there, though we still have some dim 
memories of a land sometimes spoken qf as "The States." 

Before we left for this run around the islands, each ship 
contributed its quota of men from the Carpenter's gang, who 
took up their quarters on board the Glacier and devoted their 
energies to the construction of a naval float for entry in the 
Floral Parade which was to occurr on the afternoon of February 
22nd. 

On the morning of the 22nd we landed battalions of sea- 
men and marines to take part in the greatest military pageant 
ever seen in Honolulu, held in honor of the anniversary of the 



THE HAWAIIAN ISI^ANDS 31 



birth of the Father of our Country. 

The order of march was as follows: 

Moiinted Police 

Brigadier General Macomb, U. S. A., (commanding) 
Staff; Orderlies 

Fifth Cavalry 

First Field Artillery 

Second Infantry 

Coast Artillery Battalion 

Company "G" Second Battalion Engineers 

Captain W. A. Gill, U. S. N., (commanding) Staff; Or- 
derlies 

Colorado's Band 

Marine Battalion, with machine guns 

South Dakota's Battalion of Seamen 

California's Battalion of Seamen 

California's and South Dakota's bands 

Colorado's Battalion of Seamen with Field Guns 

First Regiment, National Guard of Hawaii 

Karaehameha Cadet Battalion. 

On the reviewing stand was an assemblage of repre- 
sentative civil and military officials accompanied by families and 
friends. The line of march was thronged with enthusiastic 
spectators who heartily cheered the khaki clad boys of the army, 
and the sailors in their natty white dress. 

At two o'clock the great event of the day began when 
the Floral Parade started from Capital Square where hundreds 
of camera fiends had been busy snapping the gorgeous floats. 
Leading the parade was Prince Jonah Kalanianaole, heir to the 
throne of Hawaii, attended by his court — daintily dressed 
Hawaiian youths and maidens mounted on gaily caparisoned 
ponies. 

The pa-u riders, with their attendants, representing the 
princesses of each island of the group, followed. To us mali- 
hinis this sight of royalty and its cortege was a brilliantly 
beautiful one of great interest. 

Next came the public service floats and after them the 



32 NINE xMONTHS ON A CRUISE 

comic section of the parade. This was headed by the Hands 
Around the Pacific Club, followed by the Outrigger Canoe Club 
float — a native outrigger canoe manned by native boys in Boy 
Scouts' uniform. Then came the entry of the Trail and Moun- 
tain Club, representing a typical grass hut before which was a 
native seated and pounding poi between two stones. The Boy 
Scouts were next in line dressed in field uniform and having 
a tent pitched ready for camp life. 

The float following depicted "Our People" and on it was 
Miss Columbia seated on a throne beneath a red white and blue 
canopy, and surrounded by children representing a dozen differ- 
ent races. Next in order came the Malihini Christmas tree, a 
Spanish Galleon such as pirates used to delight in looting, 
members of Company "F," First Field Artillery, garbed in the 
uniform of soldiers of Colonial days and escorting an ancient 
fieldpiece. Their appearance gave us an approximate idea of 
how the boys of '76 must have looked when rigged out in their 
best bib and tucker. The famous and popular Kaai Glee Club, 
native singers and instrumentalists, were gracefully posed on a 
float decorated in royal purple and white, and they were given 
an ovation as they passed. 

The hit of the parade, as a joke, was the Water- Wagon. 
A wave of laughter followed its wabbly progress down the street 
— one look at its occupants being sufficient to explain why. 
Carrie Nation furiously brandished her hatchet in the face of 
unlucky Happy Hooligan while a two hundred and fifty pound 
Mellin's Food baby contentedly sucked on a nipple attached to 
a fathom of rubber tubing to a gallon bottle of milk, undis- 
turbed by her furious tirade. The wagon itself was the familiar 
type of street sprinkler, gaily decorated for the occa.«ion with 
bunting and bearing a sign reading "HIGH, DRY, AND 
COOL." Several other characters added to the solemnity of the 
turnout by inviting various and sundry good-looking young 
ladies and gentlemen in the crowd to "get on and ride." Here 
and there during its royal progress through the crowd one 
might hear some one near heave a deep sigh as they watched it 
pass and yet — were on it! No one actually fell off during the 



. THE HAWAIIAN ISI.ANDS 33 

parade, but it is rumored that a long, slippery pole, was handed 
to them at the end of their journey, down which they all slid 
when disembarking. The naval float was perhaps the greatest 
novelty in the parade. An exact model, complete in every de- 
tail, of a first class cruiser, was mounted on an enormous motor 
truck. From the forward and after turrets the formiddable 
"eight-inch" guns fired charge after charge of confetti at the 
crowds. Clouds of smoke belched forth from the smoke 
stacks; signals were run up to the yards, the semaphores were 
working, and a lookout was stationed in the top of her cage 
mast. Both of these floats won special prizes. 

The California won the prize for the real float in the wat- 
er carnival held on the water in the harbor in the evening. The 
illumination of the ships of the fleet added much to the brilliancy 
of this scene. 

We were especialy complimented, through the Command- 
er-in-Chief, on our appearance and showing in the military 
parade, and the Director General of the Floral Parade took oc- 
casion to thank the Commander-in-Chief, Ofiicers and Men for 
their interest in, and help toward making the celebration so 
an enjoyable an one. 

While all this excitement was going on in Honolulu the 
West Virginia had, on February 16, quietly slipped off on a 
cruise to nobody knew where, so missing the fun, as she did 
not return until it was all over. 

On March 1st, the Commander-in-Chief announced that 
the West Verginia had been ordered to the navy yard for re- 
pairs and that he would, on March 7th, in obedience to orders 
received from the Navy Department, turn over the command of 
the Pacific Fleet to Rear Admiral W. H. H. Southerland, U. S. 
N., Commander, Second Division, U. S. Pacific Fleet. On re- 
ceipt of this news everything commenced to move in a lively 
manner to get things shipshape in so limited a time. The West 
Virginia's crew was more or less split up by transfers to the other 
ships of the fleet to take the place of men who had comparatively 
short times to do. Stores were shifted about more or less, and 
transfers of officers and their belongings took place to make 



34 NINE MONTHS ON A CRUISE 

ready for the shift of flags. Orders were received to consoli- 
date the fleet into one division after the change of command, to 
consist of the California as flagship, Colorado, South Dakota and 
Maryland. 

In the midst of the bustle the crew of the West Virginia 
got busy and arranged for a (real) farewell dance which was 
held on the evening of the 5th. 

Altogether, about 300 men were transferred from the West 
Virginia and replaced from the other vessels of the fleet, and thus 
many happy homes were broken up ashore and afloat. But new 
ones were soon established; the Honolulu belles consoling them- 
selves as best the}' might with those of us who were left. 

At ten minutes before twelve, noon, March 7th, 1912, Rear 
Admiral Chauncey Thomas, U. S. Navy, Commander-in-Chief 
of the United States Pacific Fleet since January 16th, 1911, read 
to his officers and men assembled on the quarterdeck of his Flag- 
ship California, orders received from the Secretary' of the Navy 
detaching him from duty, then to proceed home and await orders, 
and directing him to turn over his command to Rear Admiral W. 
H. H. Southerland, U. S. Navy, who had served under him as 
Commander of the Second Division, U. S. Pacific fleet, since 
March 7th, 1911. Upon completing the reading of his orders. 
Admiral Thomas made a few remarks appreciative of the services 
rendered by all those under his command, spoke a word of fare- 
well, then turning to the Captain of the California, said "Haul 
down my flag, Captain Harlow." 

Admiral Southerland then stepped forward, read his ord- 
ers and ordered his flag hoisted, after which an opportunity 
was afforded to say a word of farewell to Admiral Thomas. 

At 12:30, officers representing each mess of the ship acted 
as sideboys, and others manned a regulation cutter in which 
they pulled Admiral Thomas out to his temporary flagship — 
the good old West Virginia — in which he was to make the trip 
home. When the cutter left the gangway the officers and crew, 
as one man, cheered again and again our friend Admiral 
Chauncey Thomas, who stood up in the stern and with bared 
head bowed his acknowledgement of our parting greeting. That's 



j^spss^mma-t-^mw 




THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS 35 



the way we all felt about him — 'that we were losing a friend — and 
a mighty good friend, too. 

At 1:30, sharp, the West Virginia left and was soon hit- 
ting it up for the high places at fifteen knots. 

During March the Marine Detachments of all the ships were 
combined into a battalion under the command of Major C. S. 
Hill, Fleet Marine Officer, and by him taken into campatScho- 
field Barracks, Leilehua, for a period of shore drills and exer- 
cises, including small arm target practice. This camp life was 
very much enjoyed as a change from ship routine. The boys 
came back all tanned up and full of vim and vigor as any Sunny 
Jim as a result of their outdoor exercises in the field. There is 
a big difference between a ship's deck and awnings and the 
springy turf of the fields and cool shadows of the woods when 
one is looking for a place to hike or a shady^ spot in which to 
cork off. It having become pretty certain that the fleet was at 
last to move in some direction very soon, we got together 
and gave our farewell dance and blowout to the townies at the 
Young Hotel. This, our final effort along social lines, took 
place on the evening of March 9th, and we surpassed ourselves. 
Much of the success of this affair was due to the clever work 
of a leap year committee composed of popular Honolulu 
maidens who, efficiently aided by chaperones, looked after the 
boys who were unacquainted or did not dance, and found com- 
panions for them. Thus the wallflower element was entirely 
eliminated. 

Finally, on Saturday, March 16th, the blow fell, when 
we received orders to proceed to Olongapo, Philippine Islands, 
for Spring Target Practice. 

We had just settled down comfortably to attend pink teas 
and other social functions, and had about made up our minds 
that we were to stay in Honolulu for the remainder of our 
thirty y^ears to retirement, when along came the dots and dashes 
over the cable and it was "Up hook and Westward ho!" — And 
yet girls will marry sailors! 

During our stay in the Hawaiian Islands quite a number 
of the officers and men of the fleet purchased lots in one or an- 



36 NINE MONTHS ON A CRUISE 



other of the suburban additions to Honolulu, It havin.e been dis- 
covered that there was plenty of land in the Islands, open to home- 
steading, which was suitable for raising a diversity of crops 
which would find a ready market right at home, several of the 
men looked up the situation thoroughly, with a view of settling 
down "after this cruise" or upon "retirement," and were fav- 
orably impressed by the prospect. 

One or two weddings occurred and several engagements 
have been announced as results of our stay, and it is safe to say 
that many of us will be glad to see Honolulu at any time for 
most any length of time. 

Our eyes were opened by one thing during our stay in 
that port — ^the interest manifested by the native Hawaiians (in- 
cluding native-born Chinese and Japanese) in our national 
game, baseball. The local teams gave us some mighty good 
drubbings and made us go some when we managed to beat 
them a game. 

Our "moving day" from Honolulu was March 18th. The 
California and South Dakota got underway at 7:25 p. m., ran 
outside the harbor and lay to while the Colorado finished taking 
on her stores. And then along came Berger's Royal Hawaiian 
Band, on the tug Navajo, to give us a farewell serenade. Some- 
how or other that band always makes us feel kind of sentimen- 
tal and as if we had lost something — or wanted something — 
and what it was that we wanted, or had lost, we were not quite 
able to determine. For that matter, any band stirs into being 
all the romance there is in us if the music is not too "fierce," 
when we hear it for the "last time" play the sweet "Aloha" or 
one of the other Hawaiian melodies which we had come to know 
so well during our stay. You may feel certain that many of 
the boys were doing some tall thinking of the last evening they 
spent with — whoever-she-was — on the lanai, listening as she 
softly strummed an harmonious accompaniment on guitar or 
ukelele and sang for him some melting native song. Taking it 
by-and-large, we weren't any too happy to be heading out 
towards the Orient instead of in exactly the opposite direction. 



CHAPTER II. 

THE PHIIvIPPINK ISLANDS 

Fifteen calendar and fourteen actual days — we crossed 
the ISOth meridian on March 24th and jumped into the 25th — 
of steady steaming at ten knots over a smooth sea, brought us to 
anchor in the beautiful, reef-T)rotected harbor of Apra, Guam, 
on April 2nd, and we spent the rest of the day pleasantly in 
slipping the Colorado a few tons of black diamonds from our 
ample store. That poor old Colly is about the hungriest ship 
we ever saw — a regular coal devourer — always ready to eat her 
share and ours too — and then yell for more! During the day, 
official calls were exchanged with the Governor of Guam. A 
few of us had a chance to land and look around a bit. Some 
even got as far as Agana, the metropolis of Guam, and its only 
large city, with a population of about 7000. They on their re- 
turn reported Agana as being a very attractive place — almost 
painfully clean. 

An interesting situation has developed in this island as a 
result of our occupancy. When we acquired it, the population 
was chiefly engaged in rural pursuits; tilling the soil as little as 
necessary, and hunting and fishing a great deal. Bountiful Na- 
ture was their landlord, their wants were small, easily supplied 
and the least of them of so little money value that the laziest 
native among them was absolutely self-supporting. Nothing 
had to be imported, and what they exported, occasionally, w-as 
clear gain. 

For many reasons, our occupation of the island necessi- 
tated the undertaking of considerable large building and con- 
structive work, including the building of roads, the erection of 
storehouses, barracks, etc. 

To perform these tasks required the services of every 
able-bodied male inhabitant available, and, at one time or an- 
other, they were nearly all employed. As a result, in a few 
years the greater number of men in the island were changed from 
farmers, hunters, and fishermen, into more-or-less skilled me- 



38 NINE MONTHS ON A CRUISE 



chanics that had become accustomed to working for a daily 
wage of money. Now, all this work is practially finished, and 
the natives find it difiicult to return to the old mode of life. 

A number of the natives "bumboated" us with island 
delicacies, and curios. 

Cocoanut crabs, palm salad, fresh eggs, chickens and co- 
coanuts were the staple foods brought on board; and quaintly 
woven baskets, mats and bags, manufactured from many sorts of 
grasses and fibres; pretty shells, bits of fancy colored corals and 
other sea treasures were offered for sale. Amongst the lot of stuff 
offered us were the poorest apology for cigars ever foisted on an 
unsuspecting public. All the junk was readily purchased by 
those looking for novelties — one of the maxims of the modern 
man-o'-warsman is "Steve Brodie took a chance!" 

Altogether the day formed an enjoyable break in the 
monotony of our long v®yage, if only because the ships stood 
still awhile and gave our sea legs a rest. Then, too, the sight 
of this beautiful island clothed in brilliant green and set, like a 
jewel, in the sparkling waters varying in shade from darkest 
blue of the deeps to pale greens and yellows in the shallows 
over the coral reefs, was most agreeable after sailing for days 
over seas in which there was nothing to be seen other than our 
fleet, except an occasional flying fish. 

At 8:46 p. m. we ran out from behind the reef in the 
light of the tropical full moon and were off on the last leg of our 
long journey — w^ich was completed when, at 2:37 p. m., April 
8th, we anchored in Subic Bay off the Naval station at Olonga- 
po, Philippine Islands. 

Olongapo is a fine little town, one of the dryest little 
towns we have ever been in outside of the State of Maine, and, 
while it has few inducements to offer in the way of amusement 
for liberty parties, we managed to have some good times when, 
in the midst of preparations for target practice, we were allowed 
to go ashore, for there were two moving picture shows, two 
native dance halls, and any number of soft drink and chow 
emporiums. Also, there are several native villages sprinkled 
around the shores of the bay within an hour's sail of our an- 



THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS 41 

chorage, where some went who were interested in discovering 
just how the natives live away from the haunts of civilization. 

Those fond of dancing had the time of their lives! The 
native girls w©re, almost without exception, more than ordinarily 
good dancers. They are light in weight and light on their feet. 
The climate is not the best in the world for the exercise of terpsi- 
chorean ability, but one soon becomes more or less accustomed to 
it. If one wishes to indulge in dancing the method of procedure 
is as follows: For one peseta — twenty centavos — ten cents oro — 
one dime — you buy a brass check on which is stamped the high- 
sounding name of some fair one, such as "Carmencita," "Bri- 
gita," "Marie," "Angelica," or "Felicita." When the bell 
rings at the end of a dance, a sign is displayed with the number of 
the next dance on it and you present your ticket to the floorwalk- 
er who points out your girl seated in a chair over which is an- 
other sign with her name on it. She is tickled to death to see you 
heading in her direction because, in about two minutes, she will 
have another ticket, good for ten centavos, to stick on her "tick- 
et" hairpin, to be cashed after she is through work for the night. 
We happened to be on hand one night when one of these girls lost 
her tickets, amounting then to two or three pesos. She certainly 
kicked up some commotion, but the tickets were not found, up to 
the time we left. These dancers are all rigged out — except a 
very few who wore a compromise American costume — regardless, 
in the picturesque national dress of gorgeous semi-transparent 
cloth which has been in style since 1628. They are barefooted 
except for slippers whose soles and high heels are made of wood, 
and these they hold on by grasping the outer edge of the upper 
gently, but firmly, between their third and little toes! Despite 
their adeptness in hanging onto them through the intricate maz- 
es of some of their native dances, a slipper will sometimes fly off, 
when they recover it by dancing around to it and deftly slipping 
into it "on the fly" as it were! We sailors, in our wanderings, pick 
uj) a good many fancy steps and different ways of dancing even 
such commonly known dances as the waltz and two-step, but nev- 
er once did we rattle any of these girls. They can glide, texas 
tommy, turkey trot, rag or dance any other old thing, with the 



42 NINE MONTHS ON A CRUISE 

best of us. With reference to these girls we are glad to record 
that they are entirely respectable and cannot be spoken to, when 
not dancing, unless one wishes to present them with an ice- 
cream or a glass of soda-water between dances. 

The remainder of April, and the first nineteen days of 
May were devoted to drills in preparation for Spring Target 
Practice. During this time we ran back and forth between Ma- 
nila and Olongapo a great many times, as one thing or another 
cropped up which made necessary our presence at one of those 
two places. 

On April 14th, Captain C. H. Harlow, U. S. Navy, was 
detached from command of the California, and ordered home to 
be placed on the retired list, at his own request, from April 
15th; and on April 16th, Captain C. M. Fahs, U. S. Navy, was 
detached from his duties as Commandant of the Naval Stations 
Olongapo and Cavite to temporary command of the California. 

On April 18th the Albany came out of the floating dry 
dock "Dewey", and the California went in to have the crop of 
hay and barnacles scraped off her underwater hull. All hands 
turned to and soon completed this work, after which her hull 
was given a couple of coats of paint that made her beautiful 
figure look like a yacht on a holiday. After each day's work, 
all who wished were allowed to go in swimming off the end of 
the dock — with the result that all the dopes that were ever heard 
of as cures for sunburn were in immediate and great demand 
for the alleviation of that form of pain. 

On April 21st all flags were half-masted in honor of the 
"Titanic's" dead. This awful catastrophe struck us like a bolt 
from the blue. It is difficult to believe that it was, or is, pos- 
sible for so great a disaster, of such a character, to occur under 
any circumstances we are able to im.agine. 

We left the dock on the 25th, and at 8:30 a. m. on the 
26th went back to Manila, anchoring off the breakwater at 1:50. 
As soon as it could be done, the first liberty party was landed 
on the beach — thus starting the long-looked-forward to Manila 
liberty. 

As a number of questions have been asked concerning 




o 

CO 

CO 

D 




THE PHILIPPIN E ISLANDS 45 

facts in connection with certain historical events and occur- 
rences in the Philippine Islands, we will endeavor, briefly to out- 
line their history and to describe some of the objects of interest 
in and about Manila. The data and dates that follow aremc-stly 
taken from an official guide and handbook entitled "The Philip- 
pines, The Land of Palm and Pine," prepared by John R. Ar- 
nold under the direction of Hon. Charles B. Elliott, Secretary of 
Commerce and Police of the Government of the Philippine Is- 
lands. They are therefore, authentic, and may be used to settle 
all bets! 

The history of the Philippines, as we know it, began 
with the discovery of the Archipelago, when Ferdinand Magel- 
lan having forced his way accross the pathless Pacific in his 
search for the storied wealth of the Spice Islands, sighted the 
coast of the Island of Samar on March 16, 1521, and soon after 
landed on a nearby island. Several times during the next 
forty years voyages were undertaken to the islands, but came to 
nothing. The first permanent settlement of Spain in the Philip- 
pines was begun on April 27, 1565 in Cebu, by an expedition 
which set out from Mexico in 1564 under the command of Mig- 
uel Lopez de Legaspi, who eventually became governor of the 
new possession. 

Thus, it will be noted, the islands, from the time of this 
expedition until the loss of Spain's American possessions were a 
dependency of Mexico, when Mexico was a colony, rather than 
of the mother country herself. 

The hostility of the Portuguese — who at that time claimed 
the whole Orient as their own — caused Legaspi to move around 
several times, in search of a better stronghold, until he finally, 
in 1571, settled in Manila which has been the capital of the 
Philippines ever since. 

In 1572 Legaspi died, and he was buried in the August- 
inian church in Manila. 

During the whole time of Spanish occupancy the Islands 
were a scene of plot and counterplot for possession by the differ- 
ent world-powers until the entrance of Dewey's Fleet into Man- 
ila Bay opened the last act of the drama of Spain's sovereignty 



46 NINE MONTHS ON A CRUISE 



in the Philippines. 

The present name of the Philippine Islands was given by 
one of the latter Spanish voyagers Ruy de Lopez de Villalobos 
in honor of King Philip II of Spain. This archipelago is over 
1150 miles long from North to South and its breadth from East 
to West nearly 700. There are, altogether, more than 3000 dis- 
tinct islands in the group, though many of these are but small 
islets or mere coral rocks. The two largest are I^uzon with an 
area of about 40,000 and Mindanao with an area of about 30,000 
square miles. Nine others range between 1000 and 10,000, and 
about three hundred and fifty others have more than one square 
mile of surface. 

A theory held by many is that this archipelago once formed 
an extension of the Asiatic continent. This is born out by the 
fact that the surrounding waters are generally shallow and that 
real sea depths are found only at a distance of from 100 to 300 
miles from their shores. The Islands are volcanic in structure, 
with considerable coral growth, and all are mountainous, the 
larger ones having well-defined ranges running mostly in a 
north-and-south direction. There are yet about a dozen active 
volcanos in the islands, of which the most important, and busi- 
est, are Mayon and Taal in L,uzon and Canlaon in Negros. 
There are hundreds of extinct craters scattered all over the oth- 
er islands. Earthquake shocks are very frequently registered 
but hardly noticeable. Destructive quakes are very rare. 

There are two seasons, the rainy and the dry. The first 
extends from November to May and the other from June to 
October. It is not unusual however for rain to fall during the 
dry season. The coolest months are December, January, and 
Februrary, the hottest March, April, and May. Typhoons oc- 
cur during the height of the rainy season. 

In Luzon theCagayan, Agno, and Pampagna, and in Min- 
danoa the Aguson, and Cotabato rivers, wind through valleys 
of great fertilit}'- capable of raising immense crops and support- 
ing great numbers of people. The valleys in Luzon are just be- 
ginning to be utilized, while those in Mindanao have hardly 
been scratched. 



THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS 47 



The vegetation of the islands includes everything that is 
grown in the tropics, with pines, live oaks, wild raspberries and 
dwarf tomatoes in the higher altitudes. The ordinary temper- 
ate zone vegetables and fruits can be raised successfully in the 
mountains, but they are not much for flavor. 

About the only wild animals in the islands — in order of 
numbers — are several species of monkeys, boar, small deer, and, 
in remote regions only, two or three kinds of wild buffalo. The 
carabao is a domesticated species of these wild buffalo, and is 
the most useful beast of burden in the Archipelago. Goats, 
hogs, and chickens are the mainstay of the family for meat — the 
last named being also useful for cockfighting! 

Though one would scarcely believe it from casual obser- 
vation, there are many species of birds in the islands, though 
few are found of any one species. The commonest and best 
known is the hawkbill, which has a raucous cry and is the sub- 
ject of some curious native superstitions. 

There are not many noxious reptiles and insects in the 
Philippines. The largest snake, the python never attacks hu- 
man beings — though the sight of one is enough to scare the aver- 
age person out of a year's growth — but is death to rats and mice; 
hence they are kept in the house, as are cats at home, living in 
the thatch of the roofs. The most dangerous and poisonous snake 
is a small green rice snake — so keep out of rice paddies unless 
your limbs are protected by stout boots. Some of the rivers 
have crocodiles in them. Lizards of many kinds are very com- 
mon and inhabit every house on the lowlands. They are entirely 
harmless — in fact they are interesting and "cheerful" as, lying 
back in your chair at ease, you watch them darting about on the 
walls and ceilings in search of flies and mosquitoes. They are 
as quick as a flash in their movements. The largest lizard, a 
kind of iguana seen sometimes on rocks by streams or lakes, is 
as ugly as sin but entirely harmless. These are the ones that 
make a noise which sounds like "Ah-koo, Ah-koo." Mosqui- 
toes are plentiful at times, in the lowlands, but are seldom as 
bothersome as those at home. 

The island waters teem with many vareities of fish which 



48 NINE MONTHS ON A CRUISE 



form a large part of the native diet. 

These islands take the prize for variety of types of the 
human species. It is said that the aboriginal people were a 
race of pigmy blacks of whom small remnants still exist under 
the name of Aetas or Negritos (little Negros,) and after whom 
the island of Negros is named. They are scattered through the 
islands, but the average traveler is not apt to see them. If one 
has the time and can enlist someone who has been among them, 
they may be found in the Zambales Mountains, back of the 
town of Floridablanca, in Pampagna Province, and on Mount 
Mariveles in Bataan. 

Aside from these Negritos who form much less than one 
per cent of the total population, now about 8,000,000, practic- 
ally the whole people of the Philippines belong to what is some- 
what vaguely and altogether incorrectly described in the school 
geographies as the "brown or Malay race." Without going too 
deeply in to a vexed scientific question, it may be said that eth- 
nologists now generally hold that all the brown peoples of 
the vast island world between Asia, Australia, and America form 
a series of very mixed stocks in which three important races are 
almost indiscernibly blended. The chief elements of this mixture 
are first, thenegritos; second, a prehistoric race which had Cau- 
casion features, if not a white skin; and third, a Mongolian 
race from the continent of Asia. 

Those competent to judge seem to think that, physically 
and mentally the bulk of the inhabitants of the Philippine 
Islands may be developed into useful citizens if they can be 
taught to acquire the more important virtues of civilization 
without its parasitic vices. The Mohammedan Moros, while 
the brainiest of the bunch, are still pretty hard citizens, not yet 
thoroughly subdued. The Filipinos, properly so called — about 
seven-eighths of the whole population — are generally Christians, 
as we know the meaning of the word, and they are civilized al- 
ready to a degree which will lead them over the road to a des- 
tiny different from that of almost any other Oriental • race 
These are the people to whom we pin our faith for future de- 
velopment into capable citizens, and to this end are we bending 




i'-.-::;-.-'..*!**'-- '-',*■■• 




.S 



THE PHILIPPINE ISIyANDS 51 

all our educational efforts. That these efforts are meeting with 
success may be readily observed by any one visiting the islands 
at intervals of a few years. 

The city of Manila is the center of interest to navy men 
who visit the Philippinss because, outside of Olongapo, it is the 
one liberty port that the big ships visit most frequently. 

It is the point where most of us get our first, and per- 
haps only impression of these islands, and at that, this city con- 
tains samples of almost everything that can be seen elsewhere in 
the islands. 

It may be said in general that there are three Manilas. 
First, the Manila of the primitive native which, with its nipa 
shacks, carabaos, and quaint fishing boats, exists much as it did 
three centuries and a half ago except that the civilization sur- 
rounding them now demands more clothing and more work 
from them. Second, there is the Manila of the sixteenth and 
seventeenth century Spaniard — adventurer, merchant, and cru- 
sader — who, in the churches and convents, the walls and gates, 
and the half Moorish architecture, has left his ineffaceable 
marks on this, the oldest of the European settlements in the East. 
Finally, there is the Americanized Manila, a town of macadam- 
ized roads, electrical devices of all kinds, sewers, and steel bridg- 
es. These elements comprize the Manila of today, but they can- 
not always remain separate and what the result of their fusion will 
be can hardly be anticipated. 

Manila does not offer much to theman-o'-warsman in the 
way of mere amusements. They may be summed up as follows: 
The dance halls at Santa Ana and Caloocan, numbers of cinime- 
trographs, — and plenty of saloons. In the cool months there is a 
vaudeville show, and sometimes a troupe from home or from Aus- 
tralia puts on a show at one of the theatres. Those fond of riding, 
driving, v/heeling or automobiling may indulge in those things 
to their heart's content. 

When it comes to places and objects of historical interest 
Manila is chuck full of them. Perhaps the most interesting of all 
is the battlemented wall enclosing the original Manila, a great 
piece of work a little over two and one half-miles in circuit and 



52 NINE MONTH S ON A CRUISE 

surrounding a tract something less than a mile long and a half 
mile wide. This wall is still in fine shape. Its age is not known 
exactly, but it is known that its oldest existing portions were built 
before the end of the sixteenth century and it has been added to 
and patched up almost to the present generation. Parts of it are 
from 20 to 30 feet in height and thickness and, considering every- 
thing, it is about the best example of a medieval wall in existence. 
It is pierced by several gates still in regular use as entrances and 
exits and it has been battered down, in one place, to permit the 
passage of trolley cars. In the casemates behind the walls may 
still be seen some of the pulleys, windlasses and other machinery 
with which, as late as the middle of the nineteenth century the 
gates were closed every night and the drawbridges outside raised. 
Since our occupation, the moat around the outside of the wall 
has been filled and parked, as it had become a pest hole. In the 
wall, at intervals, there are some interesting dungeons; maga- 
zines, sentry boxes, etc. 

Fort Santiago is the oldest part of the walled city and 
probably stands nearly on the site of the native fort which was 
carried by assault by the Spaniards in 1570. Stories are told 
of cells found here below the level of the river, and of chambers 
filled with dislocated skeletons of prisoners who had been put 
to torture, or drowned by the rising tide, but no such places are 
to be seen now. When going up the river past the fort we have, 
however, noticed a row of iron-barred windows just above the 
high-water line which are very suggestive in appearance. 

In the walled city stands the building of the University 
of Santo Tomas, founded in 1619, which is the oldest institu- 
tion of collegiate rank on American soil. It contains a fine 
museum of great interest. On the corner of Calle Palacio and 
Calle Real stands the oldest structure of any importance in Ma- 
nila, the Augustinian Church, begun in 1599. The above are 
the original buildings which have been kept in repair. Most 
other buildings in Manila while old, are either rebuilt after the 
earthquake, or only parts of them have any great antiquity. 

Outside the walled city on the broad expanse of park, 
partly natural and partly made land, facing the water front but 



THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS 53 



on the inland side, is the most famous recreation place of Ma- 
nila — the Luneta. This oval stretch of lawn is the place where, 
nearly every fine evening, the music of the splendid band of the 
Philippine Constabulary or that of some military organization 
combines with the sea breeze and the gorgeous sunset behind 
the top of Mt. Mariveles to bring together a crowd so varied and 
brilliant as to make one of the most distinctively picturesque 
sights of the city. Hundreds of carriages draw up along the 
curb or slowly make the circuit of the driveway, while thou- 
sands of pedestrians throng the walks and lawns. It is a gay and 
cosmopolitan gathering — Government officials, native politicians, 
wealthy Chinese merchants, Spaniards, officers of the Army and 
Navy accompanied by American women in the light and dainty 
gowns of the Tropics, and Filipino women of every class clad 
in the picturesque national dress of multi-colored semi-trans- 
parent cloths of native manufacture which, with the masses of 
black hair piled high in a knot on their heads has caused one 
observer to describe them as "jet-crowned butterflies." 

The IvUneta will in a few months be moved to a site 
nearer the water's edge on the reclaimed land and thus occupy 
practically the same position it did, with relation to the bay, 
before all the filling in was done. 

The Manila cemeteries are interesting — in their way — 
and we will briefly describe Paco Cemetery, perhaps the best 
designed and best preserved of them all. This was built in 
1810. There are two circular walls, each seven or eight feet 
thick, on top of which there is a balustraded terrace. These 
walls are cut up into niches, in three tiers, each niche large 
enough to contain a casket. The niches number 1782, of which 
about five hundred, in separate courts at the back, are of small 
size for children. The fronts of the niches are closed by marble 
slabs with the customary inscriptions on them, and flower 
wreaths and burning candles are frequently seen before them. 
The space within the inner wall forms a small but beautiful 
park. At the back, immediately opposite the gate, is a small 
oval chapel. The cemeteries are built above ground in this way 
because Manila is but a few feet above water. 



54 NINE MONTHS ON A CRUISE 

It seems an awful desecration to modern minds that 
though the cemetery is limited to a fixed number of bodies and 
is now over a century old, few dates on the slabs reach back 
more than six years. The explanation of this is that funds for 
the maintenance of the cemetery are provided by the rental of 
niches, which rental must be prepaid every five years; so that, 
if as is apt to be the case the second payment is not at once paid, 
the vault is opened, the remains removed, and some more profit- 
able tenant installed. Formerly the bones were cast into a char- 
nel vault back of the chapel, which vault is still in existence; 
but this cavalier practice has been stopped. Now the disinter- 
ments have to be advertised and the remains are reburied in 
consecrated ground. 

Aside from these associations the cemeteries are of artistic 
design — so far as such things can be — and are well worth a visit 
because so different from anything to which we are accustomed. 

It was from Paco Cemetery that the bones of Dr. Jose 
Rizal, the great reformer, were removed by the insurgents during 
the war and are supposed to have been made into talismans. 

Among other sights of interest may be mentioned the ci- 
gar factories, fine residence districts, the Philippine Museum, 
and the various monuments raised in memory of Magellan, Le- 
gaspi, and others of the famous men who have in one way or 
another been intimately connected with the history of the islands. 

On May 18th the Commander-in-Chief inspected the ships 
of the fleet at "Clear ship for action." Sunday the 19th was a 
day of rest, and at sunrise on May the 20th, our Spring target 
practice was commenced by the Colorado conducting spotting 
practice. The different forms of firing were carried on each 
day without hitch or interruption until the evening of May 
25th, when the South Dakota finished the practice by conduct- 
ing night experimental firing. 

On Sunday the 26th, the fleet again assembled and an- 
chored off the break-water at Manila, and liberty was once more 
the order of the day every day up to and including June 2nd. 

Beginning on June 5th and ending on the morning of 
Sunday, June 9th, the fleet went through the annual speed 



THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS 57 

trials and standardization runs. The Colorado did not take part 
in these because she had already been ordered to return to her 
home yard for certain neccessary repairs; and though the South 
Dakota started out bravely she had to drop out on account of a 
breakdown. This left the California to finish all by her lone- 
some, which she did, without a mishap of any kind occurring. 
In fact, the results of the trials indicated that the California had 
made somewhat faster time to the mile than ever before — which 
certainly speaks w^ell for the ship, her builders, and the officers 
and men who handle her, and we are glad to be able to hand a 
boquet to that particular body of men of v\/hom one hears so 
little nowadays because of the roar made by the men behind the 
guns — The Engineer's Force! 

On the afternoon of the da3' we finished these runs, June 
9th, we sent all our short timers up to August 1st to the Colo- 
rado, and she then went down to Cavite to coal for the long run 
home. We joined her the next day and took on a cargo of 
coal too, beginning at 5:30, and while we were in the midst of 
this operation — at 6:14 p. m. June 10th, to be exact — our good 
old sister ship Colly started for home and Mother. She passed 
us at quite a distance — too far off to recognize any one about 
her decks without the aid of a glass — slipping quietly away into 
the haze of a cloudy evening until she seemed more like a 
wraith than a real ship. Once more the band played the old 
tunes to which we had now become so well accustomed to list- 
ening on the departure of some other ship for the promised 
land, and all went well until it came the turn of "Home, Sweet 
Home," whea some one in authority had the good sense to have 
the word passed to the bandmaster that he could dispense with 
that heart-breaker on this occasion. (One of our captious critics 
takes the liberty of calling us down for complaining of home- 
sickness, after this fashion: "l notice that the correspondent 
(to "Our Navy" from the Pacific Fleet) writes of some of the 
men being sore oppressed because they, forsooth, have been 
away from the States for two whole months. Holy Mackerel!!! 
Homesick in Honolulu!!!! — To know what homesickness is and 
to truly appreciate the States they should ramble over on this 



58 NINE MONTHS ON A CRUISE 



rim of the earth among the exiles of the Asiatic, where two 
months is the time it takes for a letter to be answered, where it's 
almost a general court-martial offense to have nostalgia ins-ide 
of three years, where the Orpheum is a hazy dream and Market 
Street merely a memory; then when some packet points her 
nose toward the Golden Gate and he's left behind he can wish 
a 42 h. p., 6-cylinder wish to be aboard her, and his Adam's 
apple feels as large as a pumpkin." We are pleased to know 
that Brother Pierce appreciates our viewpoint so exactly — only 
his is somewhat warped and — like ours' — entirely selfish. He 
overlooks some, to us, important facts, — for instance: It is one 
thing to set sail from foreninst the Ferry Tower with a complete 
knowledge that — barring accidents — one will not gaze again on 
the big gold hands of the clock which indicate the approach of 
the hour when that next Market street libery will begin, for 
three whole years or more. It is quite another thing for one 
who is morally certain that he is stationed on the West coast of 
the U. S., quite handy to home and friends for at least a couple 
of years, to be sent off on a simple little pleasure-cruise to that 
so-beautiful Honolulu — to lie there for two months — then to re- 
ceive orders to return to the nice little U. S. — only to have 
those orders cancelled and have to remain "across the street 
from 'Frisco' " for another two months — then, when real sail- 
ing orders do come, to find that they take us out to "ramble 
over on this rim of the Earth among the exiles of the Asiatic" 
another several months instead of back to the wilds and jungles 
of tight little 'Frisco. Now, Pierce, dost thou honestly blame 
us for our "Adam's-apple" stunts as we watched the Maryland, 
West Virginia, and Colorado fade away one after the other for 
those happy hunting grounds, taking with them tried shipmates 
and true, while the bands played those tunes herein before enum- 
erated? Verily, if thou dost, then is thine heart of adamant ge- 
macht and yet untouched of wiles of women!) 

However, in the case of the Colorado there was a silver 
lining to the cloud as we had a pretty good hunch that we were 
soon to follow her, so we went about our tasks contentedly 
enough — with hope nailed to the masthead. 



THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS 61 

The gradual dissolution of our fleet reminded us of an old 
nursery rhyme and on mentioning this to one of the ship's mi- 
nor poets he excitedly ran his hand through his thatch, dashed 
off, but soon returned and handed us the following delicate bit 
of sentiment: 

Five stately cruisers — tied to the shore — 

The MARYLAND was hustled off 
And then there were four! 

Four swift cruisers — ready to go to sea — 
The WEST VIRGINIA beat it home 
And that left but three! 

Three "happy homes" — sailed o'er the ocean blue- 

The COLORADO made her sneak 
Which then left but two! 

Two sturdy cruisers — hung it out together 
And started for the States themselves 
In fairest kind of weather. 

As nothing happened to this twain 
Our rhyme, perforce, is done 
For we can't wind up with the old refrain — 
■'And then there was none!" 

On Wednesday the 12th, we returned to Olongapo where 
we shifted the range parties every day or two so that all might 
have an opportunity to finish rifle practice. 

Since completion of target practice there have been a 
number of changes in the personnel of the officers of the fleet; 
some went home in the Colorado, others were transferred from 
her to the California, South Dakota and Glacier, and a few more 
were shifted from one to another of those vessels. 

Liberty had now become a drug on the market — like too 
much of any good thing it had begun to pall — as far as Manila 
and Olongapo were concerned, at any rate. We had become 
heartily tired of running a ferry line between those two ports. 
We hankered for new worlds to conquer. And at last, on June 
16th we were made happy by the information that we would leave 



62 NINE MONTHS ON A CRUISE 



for the States on the 26th, to arrive there about the middle of 
August. So, on Wednesday, the 19ih, we mosied down to Ma- 
nila, for the last time, in order to put the Cincinnati and the 
submarines through their target practice paces, and while we 
were completing this task we at such times as were convenient, 
coaled and provisioned the fleet for the first lap of the long voy- 
age. All hands began to show a lively interest in existence, 
ceased to damn the climate, made final liberties and purchases 
of Philippine curios and, with everything shipskape, we made 
our getaway on Wednesday, June 26th, at 8: 50 p. m., for Woo- 
sung, China. 



CHAPTER III. 

CHINA 

Our run up along the coast of Luzon, Formosa, and Chi- 
na, was uneventfully smooth and pleasant, and gave us a blessed 
relief from the heat of Manila. We boomed along at 15 knots, 
which speed was somewhat accelerated for a time by a favorable 
current, and arrived off the outer Woosung bar in the Yang Tse 
Kiang on the evening of June 29th. At 9:10 p. m., we stopped 
our engines long enough to take on a pilot, then went on up 
the muddy Yang Tse Kiang, anchoring off the mouth of the 
Woosung early in the morning watch of the 30th. 

Liberty started that day. Owing to our limited stay in 
this port it had to be so arranged that each man on board could 
go at least once to Shanghai. Payday was advanced a few days 
so that we would have some shot in our lockers with which to 
buy the silks and other things that could be obtained here at a 
more reasonable figure than at any other port we were scheduled 
to stop. 

Ships of our size and draft could, but generally do not, 
go up the Woosung and anchor off Shanghai, in the basin, a 
stone's throw from the bund. Instead, they anchor as we did 
off the entrance to the river, as several vessels of our size would 
so fill up the basin as to seriously hamper the movements of the 
enormous merchant marine. Having to anchor here makes it 
necessary to boat it a couple of miles from ship to landing, and 
then take a train for the run of ten miles from Woosung station 
to Shanghai. Talk about your "slow trains through Arkansas" — 
those Chinese trains are the limit! They are interesting, though 
to anyone who has not before seen European railroad equipment. 
The engines, arrangements for the accomodation of 1st, 2nd, and 
3rd class passengers, coupling systems for cars, heat, and light, 
all are very different from ours and yet serve the same purpose. 

The land which this spur line from Woosung to Shanghai 
traverses is most fertile and is a part of one of the best agricultural 
districts in China — the Delta of the Yang Tse Kiang. Peanuts 
and rice were the crops most in evidence until, as we neared the 



64 NINE MONTHS ON A CRUISE 



environs of Shanghai, the landscape was dotted with many small 
truck farms. 

Along this route we also saw — many of us for the first time 
— the numerous "graves" which thickly dot the fields in the 
neighborhood of towns, villages, or any cluster of huts where 
the people who cultivate the land congregate, and which for many 
years had much to do with preventing the building of railroads 
through any part of China. The Chinese respect and venerate 
their parents while living and revere and worship the memory 
of their ancestors when dead. They also believe that the dead 
still use food after death — hence, in each casket is left a suitable 
orifice through which food may be thrust convenient for the 
use of the deceased. This custom explains in a measure why 
"burial"' consists in merely carrying the coffin out into a field 
and setting it down apparently at haphazard, with no seeming 
choice of location except that it be near the home of the living. 
(This is not really the case as various local conditions govern 
the place where each casket is to be left.) A result of this cus- 
tom of burial is that, from our point of view, each.patch of 
ground so situated is encumbered, and its area for cultivation 
much lessened, by the graves. The customs of ancestral wor- 
ship requirethat the father's grave be carefully preserved in 
order that his male descendants may worship before it, but the 
graves of women, unmarried people and children are not so well 
made or cared for, and, as a matter of fact it is only a question 
of time before they all fall into decay and become obliberated. 
But the frequency with which new caskets appear is startling, 
to say the least, and until the dead are really buried in places 
allotted for that purpose alone, strangers will have ample oppor- 
tunity to view this peculiar feature of the landscape. 

The above customs, aided by "fung shuy" (broadly — 
superstition — anything bad or to be feared), were principally 
instrumental, in preventing the installation of railroads for a 
long time, but all obstacles were finally overcome by appealing 
to the common sense of the people and, in a small way, to their 
cupidity. 

Shanghai means ".Upper Sea" and the city is known to 



CHIN A 67 

have existed in the year 249 B. C. It looks, in some places, as 
if it had been there longer. It is situated on a great bend of 
the Woosung twelve miles from its junction with the Yang Tse 
Kiang. 

Its foreign population is small compared with the million 
or more natives. While scattered over a large area as to resi- 
dence, the foreign population handles business in the three for- 
eign settlements which adjoin each other — French, English and 
American. In their offices is handled the bulk of China's enor- 
mous and rapidly increasing commerce with the world. Steam- 
ers enter and leave this port at the rate of 20 or 30 or more a 
day, and nothing offers a greater illustration of the difference 
between foreign and Chinese civilization than the contrast be- 
tween our iron steamships and the wooden junk which consti- 
tutes now, as it did 1000 years ago, the Chinaman's method of 
carrying freight over seas. 

These three towns within a town have all the modern 
conveniences as well as some yet-remaining ancient inconven- 
iences. The foreigners' warehouses, stores, banks and resi- 
dences would be a credit to New York, Paris or London. The 
streets are well paved and beautifully kept. They have clubs, 
race courses, tennis courts, theatres, country and town residen- 
ces, — in fact they have everything of the best that civilization 
offers. And they are self-supporting — paying for their luxuries 
and comforts with the money they have earned in the country 
in which they have cast their lot. 

In obtaining the privilege of installing electric railways 
through the town, and suburbs, of Shanghai, the promoters had 
to overcome an obstacle that was even more formidable than 
that encountered by the steam railway' people. This was the 
opposition of the jinrikisha and wheelbarrow men, whose pocket- 
book the electric cars threatened. So many thousands of Chi- 
nese obtain their livelihood by carrying passengers and freight 
in 'ricshas and wheelbarrows — practically the only method of 
getting about except on shank's mare — that they form a very 
powerful element of opposition to anything that might take 
away from them, or reduce, this means of earning a living. The 



68 NINE MONTHS ON A CRUISE 



installation of the cars seems however not to have hurt their 
business to any great extent as, for short hauls, or for traveling 
where the cars do not run, they are still the only available con- 
veyances. It is interesting to note that the jinrikisha was in- 
vented by an American missionary. 

Several enterprising firms are now using a soft-cushioned, 
low-wheeled, rubber-tyred (pneumatic) style of 'ricsha that it 
is a pleasure to ride in when compared with the old-fashioned 
rigid, high-wheeled, steel-tyred rattle-traps of which thousands 
are still in use. 

The wheelbarrows — a wheel about three feet in diameter, 
made of wood, with a seat suspended on each side high enough 
for the feet of the passenger to clear the ground — are not much 
used for carrying passengers other than the natives. It is the 
principal vehicle for carrying freight on land and, heavy and 
cumbersome as it is, enormous loads are carried. It is very 
slow as the pushee-man only proceeds at a walk. In some 
parts of China that wheelbarrow is most esteemed which 
makes the loudest screech as the wheel goes round. This noise 
is said to be very good fung shuy. Automobiles are now very 
commonly used and it was noticed that those of American make 
were as plentiful on the streets as any others. 

"shanghai", to one who has only casually heard of it, at 
once suggests the old red rooster scratching for his harem in 
Uncle's barnyard. To those who have seen only the beauties of 
that city it brings pleasant recollections of good times spent in 
the parks, bazaars and cafes; in autoing or ricshaing over its 
spotless streets, out Bubbling Well Road through the magnifi- 
cent suburbs dotted with fine residences, or in winding through 
the narrow streets of the native town at such a speed as to pre- 
vent more than a momentery glimpse, with only a vague im- 
pression, of the scenes through which one passes on the way to 
visit same native temple or other curious sight in that quarter. 
But for those who have left the charming European settlements 
and have deliberately investigated the squalid misery of the na- 
tives in the quarter where the poorest of the masses are herded 
together, Shanghai holds other and less pleasant memories, of 



CHINA 69 

the beggars, unfortunate, loathsome wretches; and of the un- 
sanitary conditions, productive of foul odors which arise from 
streets teeming with dust and filth, and crowded with a cease- 
less flow of dirty, wretched-appearing coolies clad in less than a 
nickle's worth of clothing (whatever is worn out or worthless 
seems to be thrown out into the street along with the offal of 
the household.) It is all sickening and fills one with a desire 
to help their misery while, at the same time, one realizes his 
individual inability to do so. And yet, withal, these to us, mis- 
erable wretches, seem to be — in fact it is known that they are — 
contented with their sordid struggle for life. The writer has 
seen poverty in many parts of the world, but never before so 
helpless, or so useless, a poverty. "None are so helpless as 
they who will not help themselves," seems particularly to apply 
to these. It is undoubtedly a fact that a realization of the ex- 
istence of conditions hinted at above, as well as others not 
touched on here but pretty generally known to the world, led 
those who now govern in China to make the effort which has 
resulted in placing them, the thinkers of the country, in a posi- 
tion to uplift the millions who toil incessantly for the means of 
barely supporting life without any creature comforts. 

On the morning of the glorious Fourth as the liberty party 
were taking their seats in the train at Woosung, a sad accident 
occurred. Just before the train leaves Woosung a down train 
pulls in, on the opposite track, from Shanghai. While we were 
waiting to start, the usual crowd of beggars lined up along un- 
der the windows and began their canvas for alms. Among 
them were many children — forced by their parents to beg. One 
of these tiny poverty-stricken mites, urged on by his excitement 
and hope of gain, failed to note the cries of warning uttered by 
those who noted the approach of the down train, and was struck 
down and ground to pieces before our eyes — leaving in our 
memories the sight of his little round brown dirty face, with its 
bright eyes and pleading, ingratiating smile^his hand out- 
stretched eagerly to clutch the hoped-for silver piece. 

It is said that many of the beggars deliberately maim and 
disfigure themselves in order to pursue their chosen calling, but, 



70 NINE MONTHS ON A CRUISE 

God knows, there are enough of the naturally unfortunate who 
must beg or starve and who do both most of the time. 

In spite of the miserable life the masses lead they seem 
to be strong and healthy. Their dirty appearance is apparently 
entirely due to a lack of the use of just plain old soap and water. 
They consider themselves well fed when they can get enough 
fish and rice to eat. Their scraps of clothing are made of cot- 
ton — and cotton only — one thickness in summer and quilted in 
winter. They live entirely in the open except in the cities, and 
there the houses are s© full of cracks that the only protection 
secured is from rain. It is said that the Chinese never re- 
pair their habitations, just go ahead and live in them as long as 
they hold together and sometimes longer than that. In 
the coldest weather they do not heat their houses, but put on 
more clothes. It is astonishing to note how the red blood courses 
beneath their red or brown skin, then to turn to one of our own, 
comparatively pasty-faced shipmates and witness the difference. 

The money-changers who hung on our heels taught us a 
trick or two in the way of making pennies grow into dollars. A 
five dollar goldpiece was worth — after paying the rate of ex- 
change — 9.90 mexican dollars. A Mexican or Chinese dollar is 
worth, in "small money" as silver change in ten and twenty 
cent pieces is called, about 1.20 Mexican dollars, so, if the mon- 
ey-changers could pursuade us to give them a five dollar gold- 
piece for ten dollars in small money, then take it to the ex- 
change and have it changed into Mexican dollars, then take 
them to another exchange and have the Mexican dollars changed 
into small money, they could make nearly two dollars "small 
money" on each five dollar piece by this practical but some- 
what complicated process. 

Small-footed women are not commonly seen in Shanghai, 
in fact, you have to look for them anywhere nowadays as there 
are, relatively, but few left, This binding of the feet never was 
a fixed custom of South China and those to be seen are mostly 
from the North or descendants of those born in the North. This 
habit has not resulted in making the hands and feet of the Chi- 
nese small by birth, though it is a noticeable fact their hands 



CHINA 71 

and feet are small and shapely in proportion to the size of their 
bodies. The small feet are well worth seeing, as a matter of 
idle curiosity. 

We found many places for, but not many kinds of, amuse- 
ment in and about Shanghai. One can enjoy a good meal at 
several up-to-date hotels and cafes, in some of the latter of which 
the tables are removed from the dining rooms and dancing is in- 
dulged in after dinner is over for the evening. At some of the 
road houses may be found summer gardens and dancing. These 
are nice places to get together a crowd and go for an evening's 
fun just among yourselves. 

A stroll along the paths in the water-front park on the 
Bund, or seated on one of the benches where a good view of the 
shipping in the basin may be had, is enjoyable on a fine evening 
when the band is playing. Shanghai has a very good band com- 
posed of Filipinos and called "The Town Band." It is support- 
ed by the town and numbers 50 pieces. There are a number of 
moving picture shows that are as good as any, and, of coruse, sa- 
loons are plentiful enough to keep one from thinking he is in a 
desert. 

Perhaps the best amusement of all is shopping. The very 
sight of the thousand and one kinds of silks, laces, grass-cloths, 
and of the articles made from them, or combinations of them, 
arouses a desire to be possessed of the wealth of an Astorbilt. You 
never realize just how many friends you have until you start to 
buy some trifling token of remembrance for them. Aside from 
the mere sight of these things, when it comes to an actual i)ur- 
chase the practice of the art of "jewing down" the price is very 
good diversion in itself. There are few strictly one-price houses 
among those conducted by the Chinese and Orientals, and after 
you have beat them down all they apparently will stand for, you 
pay your price with a feeling of certainty that you are beat after 
all. It stands to reason that you are — unless these chaps are in 
business only for their health and the pleasure of "giving unto 
others." Anyway, we will take a chance that our wife, sweet- 
heart, mother or sister (or some other fellow's) will be glad to 
have what we have bought for her as a souvenir of our cruise in 



72 NINE MONTHS ON A CRULSE 



the Orient. One thing those who visit this country want to 
bear strictly in mind, is our reference to Astorbilt, above, and 
begin to save their spare shekels now. Not one of us but re- 
gretted before we left this port that we had been so loose with 
our change in Honolulu and the Philippines. 

On the morning of July 6th at 11:30, strictly- Chinese 
China became a memory, as we then pulled out for Tsingtau, 
Germany's base in China. Our run up the coast was pleasant 
and we anchored off Tsingtau at 8:55 a. m. , on the 8th. Tsingtau 
was leased from China by Germany after the Japan-China war 
in 1894, and Germany may well be proud of what she has ac- 
complished in the time she has been in possession, as, less than 
twenty years ago, the spot on which now stands this beautiful 
and flourishing city, was practically a desert waste. The back 
country is rich in building stone, clay for bricks, coal and other 
minerals, and the agricultural possibilities are- unsurpassed in 
China. 

With their customary methodical precision this town was 
laid out and built solidly of brick and stone; the waste places 
were planted with trees and vines which now cover the once 
bare hills with a verdant and luxurious growth. "Spotless 
Town" realized gives one who has not seen this place some 
faint idea of the clean appearance of its buildings and streets. 
Even the 'ricsha men are lined up every morning before they 
start out after fares, and examined to see if person, clothing and 
vehicle are clean and neat. This may be done elsewhere in Chi- 
na, but if so, we do not know it. 

Und, ach Himmel; der so gutes Bier das ist hiergemacht! 
Never did suds and limburger meet on better terms than here. 
The good stuff is brewed right in town, though there is plenty 
brought over from the Fatherland for those who prefer that 
brew, and the limburger does not seem to be the worse for com- 
ing oversea in cans. 

Several of the vessels of the German fleet were lying in 
the roads. S. M. S. Scharnhorst, Flagship of Vice Admiral v. 
Krosigk, S. M. S. Gneisenau, S. M. S. Nurnberg, and Emden, 
and two torpedo boats, the Taku and S.90. The Scharnhorst 



CHINA 75 

and Gneisenan are slightly smaller than the California and 
South Dakota; the Emden is about the type of the Albany, and 
the torpedo boats are the usual type of that class of vessel. 

lyiberty was granted from 1:30 p. m. to midnight every 
day of our stay. The first night, Monday, a heavy storm arose 
which prevented the landing of boats from the ships, so we had 
to stay ashore all night. This experience demonstrated con- 
clusively that the town could not provide sleeping accomoda- 
tions for any great number of men. Many of us slept on tables, 
chairs, or even the floor, in order to obtain shelter from the tor- 
rents of rain. 

The German sailors proved to be ideal comrades. It took 
no time at all for the boys of the two nations to meet on the 
most cordial terms. It was astonishing how many of our men 
could talk German well enough to get on famously in a place 
where even the 'ricsha men speak that language. There must 
have been two or three hundred men on the California, alone, 
that could sprechen Deutsch fein! 

On Tuesday evening, the 9th, the petty officers of the 
Gneisenau entertained the petty officers of the South Dakota. 
On Wednesday evening, the 10th, the petty oflEicers of the 
Scharnhorst entertained the petty officers of the California. 
On this occasion the forecastle of the German Flagship was en- 
closed, overhead by awnings and on the sides by curtains, and 
the interior of the room thus made was gaily decorated with 
bunting and paper lanterns. Tables were ranged fore-and-aft 
along each side of the deck. Beneath the muzzles of the great 
guns in the turret was stationed the ship's orchestra which ren- 
dered during the evening all the old favorites of both countries. 
Perhaps the song most popular with them of all our popular 
songs was, "Lieb Mich Und Die Welt 1st Mein." We were no 
sooner seated at the tables than our glasses were filled with 
foaming nectar, and they were not allowed to become empty 
thereafter. There was something doing constantly. If the or- 
chestra was not playing or the splendid male chorus of forty or 
fifty voices not singing, then some one on either side was sure 
to be on his feet with an appropriate toast. Toasts were drank 



76 NINE MONTHS ON A CRUISE 



standing, to our President and their Emperor. They sang their 
national anthem gloriouslj^ while we managed to stumble 
through ours — with their aid. They knew it better than most 
of us. Speeches were made full of the spirit of good comrade- 
ship. Each was replied to in kind by members of our party. 
Heinie Rakow, George von Mohnlein, Nick Burmeister and 
Doc Zembsch carried off the honors on our side by telling them 
all about how we felt, in their native tongue. One of the Ger- 
man petty ofiQcers gave us a real interesting talk, in English, 
about the time he had at San Francisco during Portola week. 
The high jinks wound up at midnight and when we returned to 
the ship the ofl&cer of the deck had to look twice to be sure as 
to whether we were a German visiting party coming alongside, 
or our own party returning, as about half of us wore German 
hats. On the following evening, July 11th, w^e of the California 
entertained the petty officers of the Scharnhorst at a smoker on 
our forecastle, and on Saturday night the petty officers of the 
South Dakota entertained those of the Gneisenau. 

While we were thus having our good times, the officers 
of the two fleets were not neglecting each other. On the 9th 
the Governor received at the Palace and entertained our officers 
at tea and tennis, and then a concert and smoker was given 
them at the Officers' Service Club. On the 10th the Governor 
entertained at dinner in honor of our Commander-in-Chief, at- 
tended by the staff and Captains of the Pacific Fleet, the Ger- 
man Staff and various senior officers, and the American Con- 
sul. On the 11th Vice Admiral v. Krosigk entertained at din- 
ner on board his flagship, which was attended b^- the same 
guests as above. On the 12th the Tsingtau Polo Club enter- 
tained the officers at their club with polo games, a concert and 
tea. Preceeding the polo games the base ball teams of the Cal- 
ifornia and South Dakota played an exhibition game. In the 
evening the Commander-in-Chief entertained at dinner in hon- 
or of Vice Admiral v. Krosigk and the Governor, attended by 
the Staff and Captains of the Pacific Fleet, the German Staff and 
various senior officers, and the American Consul. 

The Commander-in-Chief, Captains and Officers of the 



CHINA 77 

Pacific Fleet issued invitations for an afternoon tea and inform- 
al dance to be held on board the California on the 13th, but this 
affair had to be abandoned on the morning of that day on ac. 
count of inclement weather, a rough sea and indications of an 
approaching typhoon. The American Consul issued invita- 
tions for a dinner that evening, which had to be abandoned for 
the same reasons. The officers' messes of the ships of both 
fleets entertained each other at dinner on different occasions, and, 
take it all around, our stay in Tsingtau was just one continual 
picnic. 

We found Tsingtau a very good place to buy presents 
and much money was invested there. This was perhaps the 
"quickest" week since we left Honolulu, and it didn't seem 
possible that we had been there so long when, on Sunday morn- 
ing, the 14th, at 8:35 a. m., we picked up our hooks and bore 
away at 15 knots for Yokohama, our last foreign port of call on 
the way home. 



CHAPTER IV. 

JAPAN 

We anchored off the breakwater at Yokohama at 11:45 
a. m., July 17th, and, as soon as it could be brought off, we 
were buried under an avalanche of mail which put all hands in 
fine humor to begin our stay in Japan. To add to our happi- 
ness and contentment we were given a half month's pay and the 
first liberty party was sent ashore promptly at 4:00 p. m. 

As this was the first time in Japan for many members of the 
crews of our ships, sightseeing was the first thing to be attended 
to, so we will give a brief description of many of the things 
seen by some or all of us. 

As Manila is representative of the Philippines, so is Yo- 
kohama representative of Japan as a whole, for that city may 
be said to be like a box containing a varied assortment of sam- 
ples of Japanese urban and provincial life, as to this metropolis 
come emigrants from all parts of the country, bringing with 
them their home customs, manners, and dialects. Because of 
its importance as a port of departure and export, much of every 
sort of the artistic and industrial products of the empire is 
brought here, so that nowhere in the country may the stranger 
have a better opportunity to purchase curios, art goods, silks, 
or anything of Japanese manufacture. For these reasons too, 
an exhaustive examination of what is to be seen in Yokohama 
will probably better repay the visitor — particularly if his time is 
limited — than a much greater expenditure of time and money 
spent in roaming about the country haphazard. 

As to statistics: Yokohama is the chief commercial port 
of Japan and began business as a city in the 16th century. At 
present its population is: Native, about 400,000; European, 
about 3500; and Chinese, about 7000. On the bluff, overlooking 
the Bay are located most of the nicest foreign residences, many 
consulates, family hotels, etc. Along the Bund between the 
breakwater and the English Hatoba (wharf) are the largest ho- 
tels, and two blocks back, on Main Street, are the principal busi- 
ness houses, foreign and Japanese Banks. 



JAPA N 79 

The city is divided into two districts called Kwan-nai 
(Within the Barriers), and Kwan-gai (Outside the Barriers), 
and Kwan-gai is divided into Umechi (Reclaimed Grounds) and 
Yamate (The Bluff). In the Umechi and Kwan-nai are two 
streets — Honcho-dori with its saloons, and Benten-dori with its 
shops — with whieh most of us became more or less acquainted, 
as we usually stopped in the first to acquire courage to attack 
the shopkeepers in their lairs in the second. About the city 
one finds many Shinto shrines. On Ise hill is located the Tem- 
ple of Fudo. The idol of Fudo sits on a rock amid flames of 
fire, having a two-edged sword in the right hand and a rope in 
the left. It cuts asunder vile thoughts with the sword, purifies 
the mind with fire, ties up passions with the rope and keeps 
them completely under the sway of reason. (We give this as 
an example of the meanings these different shrines have for 
those who worship before them.) At the right of this temple a 
red idol of Binzuru sits calmly waiting to confer benefits. Any 
person possessing an infirmity of the body has but to rub the 
affected part and the corresponding part of the idol alternately, 
when the good Binzuru is supposed to take the disease from the 
body to itself and thus heal the afflicted one. 

Isezakicho (Theatre Street) would put most world's fair 
midways to shame for variety of amusement. Jugglers, acrobats, 
living statues, dancers on balls, freak birds and animals, side 
shows, shooting alleys where bows and arrows are the weapons 
with which one may prove his skill, and all sorts of wheels of for- 
tune and other gambling games for petty prizes, may be witnessed 
and enjoyed for prices ranging from 3 to 15 sen for admission, or 
atry at one of the games. Wrestling is one of the most popular 
of Japanese sports, held in high esteem by all ranks. 

An interesting place to visit — and you are entirely wel- 
come to do so — is one of the several tea-firing godowns. Some 
are run by machinery and others by hand. There are also sev- 
eral factories where fine-arts good? are made — the tea-sets, lac- 
quer ware, cloissonne, and other things, some of which we have 
bought — which are open to visitors. 

The two or three large Japanese bazaars, as well as each 



80 NINE MONTHS ON A CRUISE 

small shop, are exhibits in themselves of all articles of purely Jap- 
anese type, and in these places one may buy any number of little 
things that are really illustrative of what the Japs use in every- 
day life as necessities of that life. 

The theatres offer a sort of diversion which, personally, we 
never quite dared to tackle. They are open from a little before 
10 a. m. to about 9 a. m. and meals may be brought in if you want 
to 3it out the session. 

In the U. S. Naval Hospital is an ancient mound which is 
known to be the tomb of some of the daimyo who fled from Kam- 
akura, when it was over-run by the army of Nitta Yoshisada in 
1333, and finally settled on that spot. There were three of these 
tombs on the Bluff until Yokohama was opened to foreign trade, 
when two of them were levelled to the ground. In these two were 
found skeletons, armor, weapons, and earthen statues. It used 
to be the custom in ancient times to bury these earthen statues 
of servitors with a noble when he died. 

Most of us climbed the Hundred Steps which lead from the 
end of Motomachi to the tea house "Fujita" at their top. This is 
the oldest tea house in Yokohama and the only one where ladies 
may properly go with gentlemen. The glorious snow-clad peak 
of Fujiyama, the sacred mountain of Japan, may be seen from 
here in clear weather, and a fine view is obtained of the city at 
your feet. A cup of tea, a glass of wine, or other light refresh- 
ments will be served here if requested, and one is always con- 
tented to sit awhile and rest after the steep climb before start- 
ing on the return. Many of the celebrated people of the world 
have climbed these steps before us, of whom the first stranger to 
do so was our own Commodore Perry. Fujita is open from 
morning until 11:30 p. m., and the gentle O Uchi San, made 
famous in song by Lieutenant Bostwick, U. S. N., gracefully 
presides over the house; providing Japanese dinners, music, and 
dancing of geisha, for those who wish them. O Uchi San, who 
was a dainty little maiden when Lieutenant Bostwick wrote his 
song, is now a charming matron who has seen perhaps some 
thirty summers, and she causes one to feel that he is an hon- 
ored guest, as she graciously calls his attention to the record 




Daibutsu 



JAPAN 83 

books extending back for many years and containing thousands 
of cards of famous people; or quaintly describes the other ob- 
jects of historical interest with which her rooms are decorated. 
Among the cards in those record books are to be found hun- 
dreds written by our naval officers, and many of those who wrote 
them, now live only in our memories. In the summer of 1881 a 
Japanese circus man and his daughter rode up the Hundred 
Steps on horseback, and the father rode down standing on his 
head on the horse and holding an open fan in his toes! 

The Japanese either cremate their dead, or bury them 
very deeply in the ground. In a cemetery, the tombs are very 
close to one another. This is because most of the dead are in- 
terred in the sitting posture and consequently the coffin is about 
28 inches square and four feet high, or perhaps a large tub of 
about the same dimensions is used. For seven weeks after 
burial the children and other relatives visit every day the new 
grave which is decorated with flowers and lanterns, and offer 
flowers, fruits, cakes and water, and burn incense. 

A trip out to Kamakura to see the statue of the great 
Buddha or Daibutsu is well worth while. This great image was 
made of wood at first and in 1252 the present image was cast. 
Some of its dimensions are: 

Feet Inches 

Height 49 7 

Circumference 97 2/^ 

Length of face 8 5.15 

Length of eye 5 11.6 

Length of ear 6 6.54 

Circumference of thumb about 6 feet. 
It is said the eyes are of pure gold and the silver boss (a 
round white knob in the center of its forehead) weighs thirty 
pounds. It is a most wonderful figure and looks most lifelike 
and natural. Anyone having a collection of stereoscope pictures 
of Japan is pretty sure to have a picture of Daibutsu and it will 
be well worth while to break it out and have another look at 
it, having the above dimensions in mind. Two or three of the 
fat men on board realize, since having seen this image, what the 



NINE MONTHS ON A CRUISE 



Japanese mean when they call one "Daibutsu". 

While, of course, the Japanese do not observe Sunday as 
a day of rest as we do, yet they have plenty of days each month 
that may be so used if they care to — there are ten holidays in 
Januar3^ and not less than two in any month. 

The trip to Nikko should be made if one has time, as the 
temples, sacred bridge and tombs are exceptionally fine and the 
scenery is unsurpassed in Japan. 

A great many of us made flying trips to Tokyo, during 
which we saw some of the sights of that great cit}^. The Gov- 
ernment Buildings, the Emperor's Palace, and the palace grounds, 
the great temples, and the magnificent parks and their contents 
are about all that may be seen there and not in Yokohama. The 
Ginza, or main shopping street, is of course much larger and has 
bigger stores and more variety but the prices are about the same. 
In Ueno Park, the heights of which command a fine view of the 
north-eastern part of the city, there are a number of places which 
take time to thoroughly explore, the Imperial Museum, Fine Arts 
Gallery, Zoological Garden, National Library, and any number 
of shrines, temples, bronze statues, etc. 

In Shiba Park are located the Mausoleum of the Toku- 
gawa Shogun, and the Tokj'o Bazaar. 

Asakusa Park is a popular resort in which the celebrated 
Temple of Kannon stands, and there are many shows like those 
already described in Yokohama. The first time we were here, 
nearly ten years ago, we were much surprised to find a pano- 
ramic view of the Battle of Gettysburg on this midway. Wheth- 
er it is still there we did not discover. The aquarium is in this 
park too, and is very interesting, containing more different col- 
ored fishes than we had ever seen before. The Japanese breed 
color in fishes as w'ell as flowers. While wandering around the 
Japanese cities it is imi)Ossible not to notice the many ways in 
which these people express their love for flowers. You see it in 
everything. Their favorites seem to be the chrysanthemum, 
wistaria, and the cherry blossom, and after them, any flower. 
These three, and roses, you find embroidered on clothing, paint- 
ed on fans and anything made of cloth or paper, and inlaid, or 



JAPAN 



85 



painted on and baked into lacquer — and china-ware. 

Below we give some contrasts in the methods of doing 
things in Japan and America which appear equally topsy-turvy 
when seen from their view-point or from ours: 



IN AMERICA 
We eat with knives and forks 
Our food is cut up on the table 
We wear shoes 
We write with pen and ink 
We wear hats 

We kiss each other 

We have smoking cars 

Our theatre tickets are small, 

of pasteboard 
We carry babies in arms 
We shake hands 
We turn to the right 
Our clothes fit closely 
We sit on chairs 
We write across the page 
We sleep on raised beds 
We wear shoes in the house 
We use horses 



IN JAPAN 
They with chopsticks 
Their's before being brought in 
They wear wooden sandals 
They with brush and paint 
They, the men only recently, 

and the women not yet 
They never do 
They smoke in all cars 
Theirs' are large wooden panels 



They on their backs 
They fold their hands and bow 
They to the left 
Theirs' loosely 
They on the iloor 
They up and down 
They on mattresses on the floor 
They take them off 
They men 

Speaking of the custom of the Japanese of taking off 
their shoes on entering the house reminds us of a story told 
about the first railroad in Japan. An old couple after thinking 
it over finally concluded to take a ride in the train and see 
what it was like. As they entered the train, they quite natur- 
ally stepped out of their shoes, leaving them on the station plat- 
form. When they arrived at their destination and the guard 
opened the door, they unconsciously, as a matter of habit, 
reached out with their feet for the shoes that should be just un- 
der the door of the car! Needless to say, their shoes were pa- 
tiently waiting for them on the station platform they had left. 

Many more contrasts might be noted but the above arc 
sufficient to show what unexpected things one runs up against 



86 NINE MONTHS ON A CRUISE 

at every turn. Their "actresses" used to be all men made up 
for female parts, but now they have a new school of real ones. 

In connection with our visit first to Hawaii and later to 
Japan, it is interesting to note that on June 3rd 300 Hawaiian- 
born Japanese visited Yokohama, most of whom had never be- 
fore seen Japan. The local papers described at length the cour- 
tesies extended them and the entertainments given in their honor. 

While strolling along the Ginza in Tokyo we noticed the 
ad of a firm which stated that it had been established in 1655. 
That is a long time to do business under one name and in one 
place. 

A sign of the times that would make Edward Hellamy 
sit up and take notice is the conspicuous advertising of the 
"imperial Japanese Government Tobacco-Monopoly Bureau." 
The government controls the sale of tobacco, as well as the 
railroads, telegraph lines, and some other things. They only 
cleared $9,000,000 on the railroads last year, but that probably 
helped some. It seems funny that such conditions should exist 
in an empire and not in a republic. 

Every day during the time the meal pennant flew the 
port side of the quarter-deck was lined, inboard and outboard, 
with venders of curios, post-cards, silks, metal wares, tea-sets 
and other useful junk. We spent all our small change in bar- 
gaining with them and besides the stuff we bought we gained 
considerable experience in dickering. 

An illustration of the operation of separating a tea-set 
from a Jap might be interesting: After sizing up the collection 
offered for our selection and deciding on the one we wanted to 
buy a conversation would occur something like: "How much 
that set, John?" pointing to it. 

"That set most expensive — 25 yen," "John" would re- 
ply. Then the duologue would acquire a rapid fire nature: 

"Give you four yen." 
No," short and sharp, "Have got other set more cheap- 
er — you look them." 

All right, no wantchee other set," and start to walk 
away. 



JAPAN 87 

'Please, master, how much you give?" 

'Four yen." 

'No can do — not make expense." 

'Four yen." 

"Don' speaky foolishy. Give me six-yen-hifty, please." 

'Four yen." 

'You tell plenty friends buy of me and no tell price you 
pay, all right," very confidentially, and the set is yours. And, 
as always, you are again sure that you have been stung. And 
so it goes all down the line. One man will pay 5-ixteen yen for 
what another only pays one, two, or three yen. Ashore the 
methods were practically the same, only the asking price was 
generally lower, the quality of the goods better, and the beating 
down in price less. There are some well-established firms of 
good reputation who do a strictly legitimate business and cater 
especially to the tourist trade. They will give from ten to 
thirty-five percent off on large purchases for cash. 

From all reports, at least so far as we have talked with 
any of the men who tried them, there is one thing in Japan that 
none of us could stand; the Japanese meal, pure and unadulter- 
ated by any European mixture. The manner of serving, and 
the meal itself were interesting to look at, but oh! the taste of 
things. You squat on the floor and a small table is placed be- 
fore you. Course after course of fish, meats, and vegetables 
are brought in, served in tiny dishes, and everything either to 
be drunk, or eaten with chopsticks . Their ideas of flavor and 
smell are nothing like ours. 

One dish, fried fish with plain boiled rice, is always good 
and may be depended on at a pinch for something to eat, at any 
time. Pink, brown, or white, chopped up raw fish, was never 
tasty, somehow or other, and we could only pretend to enjoy, 
and, as soon as the novelty wore off, pay our bill and withdraw 
as gracefully as possible. 



CHAPTER V. 

HOME AGAIN 

At 9:04 a. m., July 24, the California and South Dakota, 
in company, turned their noses toward Honolulu — the Glacier 
having preceded us on the 21st. We started off at our usual 
15 knot clip, expecting to make Honolulu by the 2nd of August 
at the latest, but, at 12:51 a. m. on the 26th of July the South 
Dakota's starboard propeller shaft broke, outside the hull, and 
this misfortune made it necessary for us to reduce our speed so 
that from that time on we were only able to make ten or eleven 
knots good over the ground. We bucked a moderate head wind 
and sea which were heaviest in the neighborhood of, and while 
crossing the 180th meridian of lyongitude. Here we picked up 
the day we had lost going out to the Orient. This gave us two 
Wednesdays in one week (as it happened), two 31sts of July, 
and thirty-two days in one rnonth! We were mighty glad to 
get that day back again — it made us feel more comfortable in 
our minds somehow. On the 2nd Wednesday, the last 31st 
of July, the sea became much smoother and remained so until 
our arrival off Honolulu, on Sunday, August 4th. On the morn- 
ing of that day, while yet about 40 miles from Honolulu, we 
had a rather interesting and exciting experience. An insane 
patient in some unaccountable manner succeeded in eluding the 
vigilance of his guards, rushed up on the forecastle deck and 
leaped over the side into the sea. This occurred at 8:13. In- 
stantly, both engines were stopped, a signal gun was fired, the 
breakdown flag was half-masted, and both starboard life buoys 
were dropped. At 8:14 both engines were backed full speed, 
stopped, and at 8:15 the port lifeboat was manned, dropped into 
the water, and on its way to the man who, meanwhile, had grab- 
bed a life buoy and was calmly waiting rescue. He was picked 
up at 8:18, none the worse for his dip. Both life-buoys were re- 
covered and the lifeboat hookecl on ready to hoist at 8:27, and we 
got underway again at 8:28. Fortunately for the young man 
his going overboard was immediately noted; the weather con- 
ditions were ideal; the sea was warm and just ruffled by a breeze. 



HOME AGAIN 89 



and the means for his rescue were at once provided. 

We anchored outside off Honolulu at 60:30 p. m. for the 
night. Twelve welcome bags of mail were received via the 
Glacier, the Commanding Officer of which ship had them ready 
and waiting for us, and by the time it was distributed and read 
we were ready to turn in. At 7 o'clock on the morning of the 
5th the California went into the harbor and alongside Naval 
Dock No. 1, and at 8:30 we started the coal, which was to take 
us home, into the bunkers. Coaling was finished at 6 p. m-. , 
and during the day we also took on a quantity of much-needed 
stores. 

Our short stay in Honolulu was a disappointment to our 
friends there. It was also a surprise, as the papers had an- 
nounced that we were to stay anywhere from 5 days to 3 weeks, 
depending on the largeness of the imaginations possessed by the 
editors thereof! We, however, were not anxious to stay any 
longer thaniiecessary, with home attractions looming up in the 
very near future. So it was "in again, out again, off again, 
fleet" at about as fast a gait as we could move. An opportun- 
ity was given to those who had relatives to visit, or any ur- 
gent personel affairs to attend to on shore, to go ashore over 
night, but it was not practicable to grant general liberty, under 
the circumstances, to all the men of the fleet. 

At 4:00 p. m. on the 6th, having finished taking on 
stores, and said the last "Goodbyes" to friends, we went out: 
side and anchored near the South Dakota while waiting for the 
last mail trips to be made. The launches that made these trips 
were hoisted in soon after five o'clock and at 5:26 we got un- 
derway for the last long run which was to end by our entrance 
into San Francisco Bay through the portals of the Golden Gate. 

The voyage from Honolulu to San Francisco was une- 
ventful. A steady breeze dashed a bucketfull of salt spray over 
the forecastle now and then all the way over, and, on the morn- 
ing of the 13th it was deemed cool enough to warrant our shift- 
ing into blues. This was a great relief as the constant wearing 
of white uniform involves much extra effort to keep clean and 
neat, overwhelms the laundrymen, and swamps the pocketlxjoks 



90 NINE MONTH S ON A CRUISE 

of laundry patrons. 

We sailed into San Francisco Bay at 1:00 p. m. on Au- 
gust 15th and came to anchor off Quarantine in order that we 
might obtain pratique and give the customs officials a chance to 
earn their wages. Arrangements had been made by wireless 
and we took on, while lying here, stores and ammunition and 
men to fill vacancies caused by the discharge or transfer of those 
whose enlistment had expired or soon would. Our first attempt 
at anchoring was disastrous as the starboard anchor ran out and 
snapped off at the bitter end. We tried for two days to recover 
it, but gave it up and left for San Diego on the 17th, after coal- 
ing on the 16th. 

Meanwhile, the South Dakota had gone on up to the 
Mare Island yard where she was to go into dock and have her 
propeller shaft replaced. 

Having come safely back from our voyage to lands where 
we had learned much from the strange and curious sights seen 
there, and having thoroughly enjoyed that mixture of work and 
play which keeps Jack from "becoming a dull boy" we were 
now ready to go through the Autumn Target Practice off San 
Diego, with snap and vigor, in order that we might get to our 
home yard and start off on our leave of absence while the ship 
undergoes necessary repairs. 

It is while on leave that we have opportunity to tell 
the folks all about what a lot of fun may be had on a cruise, in 
time of peace, on one of Uncle Sam's big home defenders, and 
it is then that they are able to size us up and appreciate how we 
have "improved" since we joined the Navy. 

After all, "Be it ever so humble, there is no place like 
Home." 

FINIS. 



ITINERARY OF U. S. S. CALIFORNIA 

FROM DATE OF COMMISSIONING, AUG. 1, 1907, TO AUG. 15, 19! 2 



PORT VISITED 



ARRIVED 



Navy Yard, Mare Island, California Aug. 1,07 

Vallejo Junction, California Oct. 8, 07 

Sausalito, California Oct. 21, 07 

San Francisco, California Nov. 4, 07 

Navy Yard, Bremerton, Washington.... Nov. 16, 07 

Victoria, B. C Dec. 4, 07 

San Francisco, California Dec. 8, 07 

Santa Barbara Channel Dec. 13, 07 

Vallejo Junction, California Dec. 16, 07 

San Francisco, California Dec. 17, 07 

San Diego, California Dec. 20, 07 

Magdalena Bay, Mexico Dec. 22, 07 

San Diego, California Jan. 5, 08 

San Francisco, California, to Jan. 9, 08 

San Francisco, California Jan. 19, 08 

Vallejo Junction, California Jan. 21, 08 

Navy Yard, Mare Island, California Feb. 4, 08 

Vallejo Junction, California Feb. 18, 08 

Magdalena Bay, Mexico Feb. 23, 08 

San Diego, California Mar. 13, 08 

San Pedro, California Mar. 16, 08 

Redondo, California Mar. 23, 08 

Venice, California Mar. 25, 08 

Monterey. California Mar. 28, 08 

San Francisco, California Mar. 29, 08 

Port Angeles, Washington Apr. 4, 08 

Port Townsend, Washington Apr. 6, 08 

Bellingham, Washington Apr. 8, 08 

Blaine, Washington Apr. 11, 08 

Everett, Washington Apr. 12, 08 

Seattle, Washington Apr. 13, 08 

Navy Yard, Bremerton, Washington. .. Apr. 15, 08 

Anacortes, Washington Apr. 23, 08 

Seattle, Washington Apr. 25, 08 

Navy Yard, Bremerton, Washington... Apr. 27, 08 

San Francisco, California May 4, 08 

Santa Barbara, California May 18, 08 

Long Beach, California May 22,08 

Santa Barbara, California May 25, 08 

Venice, California May 29, 08 

Santa Barbara, California June 1, 08 

Redondo, California Jane 5, 08 

Santa Barbara, California June 8, 08 

Santa Cruz, California June 14, 08 

Vallejo Junction, California June 15, 08 

Hunter's Point Dry-dock June 16, 08 



DEPARTED MII^ES 
STEAMED 

Commissioned 3 
Oct. 21, 07 21 



Nov. 4 

Nov. 13 
Dec. 4 
Dec. 5 
Dec. 12 
Dec. 15 
Dec. 17 
Dec. 18 
Dec. 20 
Jan, 

Jan. 

Jan. 

Jan. 

Feb. 

Feb. 

Feb. 

Mar. 11 

Mar. 16 

Mar. 23 

Mar. 25 

Mar. 27 

Mar. 29 

Apr. 

Apr. 

Apr. 

Apr. 

Apr. 

Apr. 

Apr. 

Apr. 

Apr. 

Apr. 

May 

May 

May 

May 

May 

June 
June 
June 

June 

June 

June 
June 



1 

6 

8 

11 

12 
13, 
15 

23 

25 

27 

1 

17, 

22 

25 

29 

1 

4, 

8 

13 

15 

16 

19 



07 
07 
07 
07 
07 
07 
07 
07 
07 



08 
08 
08 



08 
08 



08 
08 
08 



08 
08 
08 
08 
08 
08 
08 
08 
08 
08 



6 

810 

78 

750 

265 

280 

17 

440 

594 

595 

440 

730 

22 

2 

2 

1041 

596 

96 

20 

9 

270 

96 

735 

31 

41 

33 

85 

29 

13 

79 

66 

13 

851 

277 



68 
68 
74 
74 
212 
85 
25 
4 



92 



NINE MONTHS ON A CRUISE 



San Francisco, California June 19 

Vallejo Junction, California June 23 

San Francisco, California June 27 

San Diego, California July 3 

San Francisco, California July 9, 

Vallejo Junction, California July 10, 

Navy Yard, Mare Island, California July 13, 

California City, California Aug. 16, 

San Francisco, California Aug. 18, 

Honolulu, T. H Sept. 2, 

Pago Pago, Samoa Sept. 20, 

Honolulu, T. H Oct. 17, 

Magdalena Bay, Mexico Nov. 2, 

Amapala, Honduras Dec. 8, 

Panama Dec. 12, 

Talcahuana, Chile, at sea, bound for... Dec. 31, 

Talcahuana at sea, bound for Jan. 1, 

Talcahuana, Chile Jan. 3, 

Coquimbo, Chile Jan. 16, 

Callao, Peru Jan. 27, 

Chatham Island, Ecuador Feb. 14, 

Panama Feb. 22, 

Amapala, Honduras Mar. 3, 

Magdalena Bay, Mexico Mar. 18, 

San Francisco, California April 7, 

Magdalena Bay, Mexico April 12, 

San Francisco, California April 21, 

Port Townsend, Washington May 20, 

Tacoma, Washington May 21, 

Seattle, Washington May 29, 

Navy Yard, Bremerton, Washington... June 4, 

San Francisco, California June 10, 

Navy Yard, Mare Island, California... June 11, 

Hunter's Point, California July 24, 

Mare Island Light, California July 27, 

Navy Yard, Mare Island, California... Aug. 2, 

San Francisco, California Aug. 14, 

Seattle, Washington Aug. 18, 

Vashon Island, Washington Aug. 20, 

Off Vashon Island, Washington Aug. 20, 

Seattle, Washington .. Aug. 20, 

California Citj', California Aug. 31 

San Francisco, California Sept. 1, 09 

Honolulu, T. H Sept. 10, 09 

Maalaea Bay, T. H Sept. 20, 09 

Off Maalaea Bay, T. H Sept. 21, 09 

Hilo, T. H Sept. 23, 09 

Honolulu, T. H Sept. 25, 09 

Mares Harbor, Admiralty Id Oct. 17, 09 

Manila, P. I Oct. 30,09 

Cavite, P. I Nov. 4, 09 

Olongapo, P. I Nov. 7, 09 

Manila Bay, P. I Nov. 9. 09 

Olongapo, P. I Nov. 10, 09 

Manila Bay, P. I Nov. 12, 09 



, 08 
08 
08 

, 08 



08 
08 



08 
08 
08 
09 
09 
09 
09 
09 
09 
09 
09 
09 
09 
09 
09 
09 
09 
09 
09 
09 
09 
09 
09 
09 
09 
09 
09 
09 
09 



June 

June 

July 

July 

July 

July 

Aug. 

Aug. 

Aug. 

Sept. 

Oct. 

Oct. 

Dec. 

Dec. 

Dec. 



23, 08 
27, 08 

1, 08 
7, 08 
10, 08 
13, 08 
16, 08 
18, 08 

24, 08 
10, 08 

7. 08 
22, 08 

1, 08 
10, 08 
22, 08 



Jan. 

Jan. 

Feb. 

Feb. 

Feb. 

Mar. 

April 

April 

April 

May 

May 

May 

June 

June 

June 

July 

July 

Aug. 

Aug. 

Aug. 

Aug. 

Aug. 

Aug. 

Aug. 

Sept. 

Sept. 

Sept. 

Sept. 

Sept. 

Sept. 

Oct. 

Oct. 

Nov. 

Nov. 

Nov. 

Nov. 

Nov. 

Nov, 



09 
09 
09 
09 
09 
09 
09 
09 
09 
09 
09 
09 
09 
09 
09 
09 
09 
09 
09 
09 
09 
09 
09 
09 
09 
09 
09 
09 
09 
09 
09 
09 
09 
09 
09 
09 
09 
09 



21 

21 

450 

450 

24 

2 

18 

8 

2100 

2300 

2275 

2450 

1730 

753 

2140 

600 

480 

1120 

900 

860 

750 

1620 

1017 

1017 

1017 

766 

■ 56 

25 

17 

821 

30 

28.5 

26.4 

3 

25.8 

804 

8 

152 

8 

806 

7.3 

2156 

90 

120 

114 

198 

3587 

1952 

4 

6 

52 

57 

53 

57 



ITINERARY SINCE COMMISSIONING 



Olongapo, P. I 

Manila, P. I 

Yokohama, Japan 

Woosung, China 

Yokohama, Japan 

Honolulu, T. H 

San Francisco, California 

California City, California 

San P'rancisco, California 

Santa Barbara, California 

Santa Rosa, Island, California 

Santa Barbara, California 

Santa Barbara Channel 

Santa Barl)ara, California 

Santa Cruz Island, California 

Santa Barbara, California 

Santa Rosa Island, California 

Santa Barbara, California 

Santa Barbara Channel, California 

Santa Barbara, California 

Santa Rosa Island, California 

On Target Range off Santa Barbara... 

Santa Rosa Island, California 

Santa Cruz, California 

California City, California 

Navy Yard, Mare Island, California.. 

California City, California 

San Francisco, California 

Chimbote, Peru 

Valparaiso, Chile . 

Chimbote, Peru 

San Francisco, California 

San Diego, California 

San Francisco, California 

Tiburon, California 

San Francisco, California 

San Diego, California 

On target range, off San Diego, Cal.. 

San Francisco, California 

Tiburon, California 

San Francisco, California 

Santa Barbara, California 

San PYancisco, California 

Santa Barbara, California 

San Diego, California 

San Pedro, California 

lyong Beach, California 

San Pedro, California 

Long Beach, California 

San Pedro, California 

San Diego, California 

San Pedro, California 

Santa Barbara, California 

San Francisco, California 

Mare Island, California 



Nov. 


20, 


09 


Dec. 


6, 


09 


63.5 


Dec. 


6, 


09 


Dec. 


10, 


09 


1751.8 


Dec. 


15, 


09 


Dec. 


30, 


09 


1150 


Jan. 


3, 


10 


Jan. 


14, 


10 


1026 


Jan. 


17, 


10 


Jan. 


20, 


10 


3462 


Jan. 


31, 


10 


Feb. 


8, 


10 


2119 


Feb. 


14, 


10 


Feb. 


23, 


10 


7 


Feb. 


23, 


10 


Feb. 


24, 


10 


7 


Feb. 


24, 


10 


Mar. 


1, 


10 


293 


Mar. 


2, 


10 


Mar. 


7, 


10 


28.5 


Mar. 


7, 


10 


Mar. 


11, 


10 


28.5 


Mar. 


11, 


10 


Mar. 


14, 


10 


18 


Mar. 


14, 


10 


Mar. 


14, 


10 


17 


Mar. 


14, 


10 


Mar. 


15, 


10 


25 


Mar. 


15, 


10 


Mar. 


18, 


10 


25 


Mar. 


18, 


10 


Mar. 


22, 


10 


28 


Mar. 


22, 


10 


Mar. 


23, 


10 


28 


Mar. 


23, 


10 


Mar. 


24, 


10 


15 


Mar. 


24, 


10 


Mar. 


24, 


10 


15 


Mar. 


24, 


10 


Mar. 


27, 


10 


45 


Mar. 


27, 


10 


Mar, 


28, 


10 




Mar. 


29, 


10 


April 


2, 


10 


525 


April 


2, 


10 


April 


3, 


10 


317 


April 


4, 


10 


April 


6, 


10 


85 


April 


6, 


10 


x\pril 


7, 


10 


17 


April 


7, 


10 


Aug. 


9, 


10 


21 


Aug, 


9, 


10 


Aug. 


11, 


10 


8 


Aug. 


11, 


10 


Aug. 


14, 


10 


3939.1 


Aug. 


28, 


10 


Sept. 


4, 


10 


1570 


Sept. 


10, 


10 


Sept. 


23, 


10 


1460.3 


Sept. 


28, 


10 


Oct. 


3, 


10 


3434.4 


Oct. 


16 


10 


Nov. 


3, 


10 


460.8 


Nov. 


5, 


10 


Nov. 


19, 


10 


510.9 


Nov. 


21, 


10 


Nov. 


27, 


10 


9.9 


Nov. 


27, 


10 


Nov. 


28, 


10 


10.4 


Nov. 


28, 


10 


Nov. 


30, 


10 


507.6 


Dec. 
Stean 


2, 
ed 


10 


Dec. 


21, 


10 


486 
1859.3 


Dec. 


23, 


10 


Dec. 


28, 


10 


9 


Dec. 


28, 


10 


Dec. 


29, 


10 


9 


Dec. 


29, 


10 


Jan. 


4, 


11 


311 


Jan. 


5 


11 


Jan. 


14, 


11 


291.8 


Jan. 


15 


11 


Jan. 


17, 


11 


303.6 


Jan. 


18 


11 


Jan. 


31, 


11 


182 


Feb. 


1, 


11 


Feb. 


28, 


11 


102.1 


Mar. 


1, 


11 


Mar. 


1 


11 


5.9 


Mar. 


1, 


11 


Mar. 


4 


11 


4.9 


Mar. 


4 


11 


Mar. 


4 


11 


5.6 


Mar. 


4 


11 


Mar. 


5 


11 


4.7 


Mar. 


5, 


11 


Mar. 


9 


11 


89.3 


Mar. 


9 


11 


June 


25 


11 


468 


June 


26, 


11 


June 


27 


11 


85 


June 


28 


11 


June 


28 


11 


277 


June 


29 


11 


June 


30 


11 


24 


June 


30 


11 


July 


6 


11 


23 



94 NINE MONTHS ON A CRUISE 



San Francisco, California July 6, 11 July 17, 11 23 

Mare island, California July 17,11 Sept. 16, 11 4 

Mare Island Ivight, California Sept. 16, 11 Sept. 18, 11 19 

San Francisco, California Sept. IS, 11 Sept. 20. 11 440 

San Diego, California Sept. 23, 11 Sept. 25, 11 500 

Coronado Beach, California Sept. 25, 11 Sept. 30, 11 8 

San Diego, California Sept. 30, 11 Oct. 2, 11 52 

Coronado, California Oct. 2, 11 Oct. 4, 11 83.9 

San Pedro, California Oct. 5, 11 Oct. 6, 11 87 

Santa Monica, California Oct. 6, 11 Oct. 9, 11 230 

San Francisco, California Oct. 10, 11 Oct. 17, 11 7 

California City, California Oct. 17,11 Oct. 17,11 7 

San Francisco, California Oct. 17, 11 Oct. 19, 11 345 

San Diego, California Oct. 20, 11 Oct. 23, 11 122 

Coronado, California Oct. 23, 11 Oct. 27, 11 10 

San Diego, California Oct. 27,11 Oct. 31,11 10 

Coronado, California Oct. 31, 11 Oct. 31, 11 87 

San Pedro, California Nbv. 1, 11 Nov. 4, 11 87 

San Diego, California Nov. 4,11 Nov. 6,11 42 

Coronado, California Nov. 6, 11 Nov. 7, 11 24 

San Diego, California Nov. 7,11 Nov. 8,11 10 

Coronado, California Nov. 8, 11 Nov. 12, 11 10 

San Diego, California Nov. 12, 11 Nov. 12, 11 42 

Coronado, California Nov. 12, 11 Nov. 15, 11 24 

San Diego, California Nov. 15, 11 Nov. 15, 11 348 

Tiburon, California Nov. 17.11 Nov. 17, 11 7 

San Francisco, California Nov. 17, 11 Nov. 21, 11 2181.7 

Honolulu, T. H Nov. 28, 11 Dec. 2, 11 88 

vVaialua, T. H Dec. 2, 11 Dec. 3, 11 45 

Honolulu, T. H Dec. 3, 11 Dec. 14, 11 13 

Pearl Harbor, T. H Dec. 14, 11 Dec. 14, 11 11 

Honolulu, T. H Dec. 14, 11 Dec. 15, 11 180.4 

Hilo, T. H Dec. 16, 11 Dec, 20, 11 159.1 

Honolulu, T. H Dec. 21, 11 Jan. 29, 12 40 

Off Honolulu, T. H Jan. 29,12 Feb. 1.12 3 

Naval Station, Honolulu, T. H Fel). 1.12 Feb. 5,12 38 

Off Honolulu, T. H Feb. 5, 12 Feb. 6, 12 34 

Off Honolulu, T. H Feb. 6, 12 Feb. 7, 12 50 

Off Honolulu, T. H Feb. 7,12 Feb. 8,12 40 

Naval Station, Honolulu, T. H Feb. 8, 12 Feb. 12, 12 77 

Ivehaiana, Maui, T. H Feb. 12, 12 Feb. 13, 12 132 

Kealakakua, Hawaiia, T. H Feb. 13, 12 Feb. 14, 12 148 

Hilo, Hawaiia, T. H Feb. 15,12 Feb. 19,12 122 

Kahului, T. H Feb. 19, 12 Feb. 20, 12 95 

Honolulu, T. H Feb. 20, 12 Mar. 11, 12 3 

Off Honolulu, T. H Mar. 11, 12 Mar. 12, 12 32 

Off Honolulu, T. H Mar. 12, 12 Mar. 13. 12 32 

Off Honolulu, T. H Mar. 13, 12 Mar. 14, 12 28 

Off Honolulu, T. H Mar. 14, 12 Mar. 15. 12 32 

Off Honolulu, T. H Mar. 15, 12 Mar. 16, 12 3 

Naval Station, Honolulu, T H Mar. 16, 12 Mar. 18, 12 3579 8 

Guam, M. I April 2, 12 April 2, 12 1578 

Olongapo, P. I .. April 8, 12 April 9, 12 60 

Cavite, P. I April 9, 12 April 12, 12 60 

Olongapo, P. I April 12, 12 April 26, 12 64 



ITINERARY SINCE COMMISSIONING 95 

Manila, P. I April 26, 12 April 29, 12 4 

Cavite, P. I April 29, 12 May 1, 12 26 

Target Range May " 1, 12 May 4, 12 26 

Manila, P; I May 4, 12 May 6, 12 34 

Target Range May 6,12 May 10,12 320 

Manila, P. I May 10, 12 May 13, 12 100 

Target Rang* May 13,12 May 17,12 315 

Olongapo, P. I May 17, 12 May 24, 12 372 

Manila, P.I May 24,22 May 26,12 24 

Manila, P. I May 26, 12 May 38, 12 130 

Manila, P. I May 28, 12 June 5, 12 564.8 

Cayite, P. I June 6, 12 June 7, 12 46.5 

Olongapo, P. I June 7, 12 June 10, 12 241.3 

Cayite, P. I June 10, 12 June 12, 12 62.8 

Olongapo, P. I June 12, 12 June 19, 12 62.8 

Manila, P. I June 19, 12 June 24, 12 Ife 

Cavite, P. I June 24, 12 June 26, 12 1133 

Woosung, China June 30, 12 July 6, 12 409 

Tsingtau, China July 8, 12 July 14, 12 1156 

Yokohama, Japan July 17, 12 July 24, 12 3378 

Honolulu, T. H Aug. 4, 12 Aug. 6, 12 2091 

San Francisco, California Aug. 15, 12 

Total miles steamed since commissioning 96,089.8 

The California was commissioned August 1st, 1907, at the Navy 
Yard, Mare Island, Cal., Captain Thomas Phelps Commanding. Captain 
Phelps was relieved by Lieutenant-Commander N. A. McCully October 12, 
1907, who was relieved by Captain V. L. Cottman, November IS, 1907. 
Captain Cottman remained in command until September 30, 1909, being 
relieved by Captain Henry T. Mayo, who was relieved January 16, 1911, 
by Captain Charles H. Harlow. On April 14, Captain Harlow was retired 
and relieved temporarily by Lieutenant-Commander Willis McDowell, who 
in turn was temporarily relieved by Captain C. M. Fahs. On July 1st, 
Captain Fahs was relieved by Captaiii A. S. Ha'stead, now in command. 

The California was built by the Union Iron Works San Francisco, Cal. 
Her construction was authorized by Congress, June, 1900, contract price 
$3,800,000 and launched April 28, 1904. Her speed on four hour trial was 
22.2 knots. Her length is 502 feet, beam 69 feet, 10^ in. Horsepower 
23,000. Displacement 13,680 tons. Displacement with full bunkers, 15,138 
tons. She has two 3-bladed propellers, 18 ft. diameter, of Manganese bronze. 

BATTERY 
Four 8-inch guns in turrets, fourteen 6 inch guns, eighteen 3-in. guns, 
four 3-pounders, two 3-inch field guns, 2 gattling guns, 2 colts. 

ARMOR 
8 feet deep, 3 feet above load water line, 5 feet below; 6 inches thick 
at top, 5 inches at bottom at midships, tapering to 3>2 inches at ends. 
Turrets: 6% inches thick front, 6 inches sides, 2 inches on inclined top. 
Barbette: 6 inches thick. Conning tower, 9 inches thick. Protective 
deck: 4 inches thick on incline, 1% inches thick on top. 



ROSTER OF OFFICERS 

U. S. S. CALIFORNIA. FLAGSHIP 
UNITED STATES PACIFIC FLEET 

Rear Admiral Chauncey Thomas, Commander-in-Chief, U. S. Pacific Fleet 

Jan. 16, 1911 to Mar. 7, 1912. 
Rear Admiral W.H.H.Southerland, Commander-in-Chief, U.S.Pacific Fleet 

Mar. 7, 1912 to 

Personal Staff 

lyieutenant Commander Willliam D. Leahy Fleet Ordnance Offiicer 

Lieutenant Commander S. I. M. Major Fleet Engineer 

Lieutenant Robert L. Ghormley Flag Lieutenant 

Lieutenant (j. g, ) Charles G. Davy Flag Secretary 

Fleet Staff 

Pay Inspector Thomas H. Hicks Fleet Paymaster 

Surgeon Charles M. DeValin Fleet Surgeon 

Major Charles S. Hill Fleet Marine Officer 

Officers of U. S. S. California 

Captain C. H. Harlow Commanding (Jan. 16, 1911 to Apr. 12, 1912) 

Captain C. M. Fahs Commanding (Apr. 16, 1912 to July 1, 1912) 

Captain A. S- Halsteail Commanding (July 1, 1912 ) 

Lieutenant Commander Willis McDowell 

Lieutenant Commander H. T. Winston 

Lieutenant G. W. Steele, Jr. 

Lieutenant (j. g.) R. T. Keiran 

Lieutenant (j. g.) J. M. Schelling 

Lieutenant (j. g.) R. B. Horner 

Lieutenant (j. g. ) E. A. Lofquist 

Ensign H. A. Badt 

Ensign K. L. Hill 

Ensign H. C. Train 

Ensign W. W. Waddell 

Ensign M. S. Bennion 

Ensign F. G. Marsh 

Ensign J. G. Ware 

Ensign R. H. Skelton 

Ensign M. H. Anderson 

Ensign D. J. Callaghan 

Ensign P. M. Bates 

Ensign H. R. Bogusch 

Ensign W. H. O'Brien, Jr. 

Ensign H. Bode 

P. A. Surgeon W. A. Angwin 

P. A. Surgeon C. B. Munger 

Paymaster J. S. Beeoher 

l^t Lt., USMC, H. T. Vulte 

Chaplain J. F. Fleming 

Boatswain W. R. Buechner 

Chief Gunner C. W. Ljungquist 

Gunner G. P. Schurz 

Ch. Machinist W. R. Scofield 

Machinist R. G. Moody 

Machinist E. W. Dobie 

Carpenter H. Duthie 

Pay Clerk (Fleet) Harry Mack 

Pay Clerk W. A. Gillman 



ROSTER OF CREW 

U. S. S. CALIFORNIA 



Chief Master-at-Arms 

Ganeau, E. 
Marshall, D. F. 
Siemes, M. 

Chief Boatswain's Mates 
Anderson, Iv. 
Clark, C. F. 
Hill, R. 
Jacobsen, S. 
Tyseling, S. 
Xaiver, A. 

Chief Gunner's Mates 
Rakow, R. 
Vincent, F. 

Chief Turret Captain 
DaJ^ W. A. 

Chief Quartermasters 
Conroy, M. D. 
Schiedemen, J. L. 

Chief Machinist's Mates 
Cole, L. J. 
Conner, H. C. 
Evans, J. B. 
Hilt, H. L. 
Michael, J. 
Neary, M. J. 
Penn, W. 
Ring, J. E. 

Chief Electricians 
Heckendorn, J. 
Kohls, C. A. 
Thornhill, H. 
Trueworthy, C. W. 

Chief Carpenter's Mate 

Anderson, A. 

Chief Water Tenders 

Appleby, W. I. 
Barry, E. 
Hermanson, E. S. 
King, G. W. 
McCarthy, J. 
Zellar, W. A. 

Chief Yeomen 
Dunham, S. V. 
Richmond, W. E. 
Thayer, E. L. 
Vasey, R. C. 

Hospital Stewards 
Barber, D. F. 



Hospital Stew^ards (Contd.) 

Zembsch, L,. 

Bandmaster 

Wrobel, L- 

Chief Commissary Steward 

Von Mohnlein, G. 

Master-at-Arms, 1st Class 

Klesow, J. C. 
Trulson, H. T. 

Boatswain's Mates, 1st Class 
Burmeister, N. 
King, L,. K. 
Ivightener, F. E. 
McQuade, T. 
Tarbell, G. E. 

Turret Captain, 1st Class 
Kaiss, B. H. 

Gunner's Mates, 1st Class 
Bain, C. O. 
Barrett, P. 
Blade, E. J. 
Costello, B. P. 
Emmel, E. 
Junior, C. J. 
Williams, C. A. 

Quartermasters, 1st Class 
Borchers, h. S. 
Hackett, R. F. 
Shade, S. 1,. 

Machinist's Mates 1st Class 
Grandrau, I^. A. 
Kowalski, G. J. 
Los, J. 
Morgan, C. 
Rowe, H. S. 
Savell, M. A. 
Tilghman, D. 

Electricians, 1st Class 
Artley, D. 
Bankhead, C. A. 
DeVinna, C. 
Duncan, W. A. 
Edge, E. R. 
Findley, F. W. 
Horsted, C. 
Mallon, J. F. 
Mullen, W. M. 
Newton, H. F. 
Schaiblin, T. 
Sherman, K. W. 



NINE MONTHS ON A CRUISE 



Electricians, 1st Class (Contd.) 

Stilwell, D. H. 
Talla, J. 

Boilermakers 

Burke, W. I. 
Cullinan, J. O. 
McCue, J. J. 
Walker, J. H. 



Copersmith 



Utz, R. H. 

Blacksmiths 

McCafferkey, E. T. 
Corson, J. R. 
Dahlstrom, R. O. 
Krickmeyer, VV. 

Plumbers & Fitters 
Houser, R. 
Kilgoat, J. 
Schafer, J. W. 
Smith, W. M. 

Sailmaker's Mate 
Gruber, F. B. 

Water Tenders 
Ala, G. F. 
Beach, C. F. 
Blackwood, W. 
Bush, F. 
Clark, A. G. 
Donlon, J. 
Hall, F. C. 
Holtzman, P. 
Johanson, R. 
Kinstrey, J. 
Matheson, A. 
Murry, W. J. 
O'Hara, H. 
Ohm, G. 
Parker, A. L. 
Seeker, P. A. 
Smith, G. 
Smith, H. P. 
Smith, J. 
vStelling, W. 

Painter, 1st Class 
Woodbury, M. A. 

Yeomen, 1st Class 
Davis, J. R. 
Deering, J. R. 
Pottorff, S. O. 
Taylor, E. C. 
Veirs, R, B. 



Ship's Cook, 1st Class 

Soolman, M. 

Baker, 1st Class 
Johnson, E. 

Masters-at-Arms 2nd Class 

Carrera, M. 
Italien, H. 
Schlenther, H. 

Boatswain's Mates, 2nd Class 

Berg, Iv. A. 
Jones, C. 
Korporaal, P. 
Montez, J. G. 
McEachern, H. 
McPherson, W. C. 
Nallen, B. F. 
Richardson, W. T. 
Stevenson, W. K. 
Walker, D. T. 

Gunner's Mates, 2nd Class 

Jackson, R. 
L/C wis, VV. H. 
Maerz, J. 
Newton, E- F. 
Robbins, J. W. 
Schultz, B, F. 
Sullivan, J. L. 
Stewart, H. A. 
Williamson, C. P. 

Quartermaster, 2nd Class 
Hawkins, C. A. 

Machinist's Mates, 2nd Class 
Cole, C. H. 
Drilling, H. E. 
Frank, C. E. 
Eraser, V. I/. 
Fuhman, C. 
Hany, E. 
Heiisser, W. 
Karter, B. H. 
Kilwinski, F. H. 
Moore, J. L,. 
Nelson, H. J. 
Quinn, M. M. 
Rinehimer, P. 
Smith, R. S. 

Electricians, 2nd Class 
Ahrens, E. F. 
Corbiere, A. 
Gaxiola, W. M. 
Hodgman, F. S. 



AND EXPERIENCKS IN NICARAGUA 



99 



Electricians 2nd Class. 

Hodgman, F. S. 
Home, E. 
Richardson, H. 
Talmadge, G. L. 

Carpenter's Mates 2nd Class. 

Meredith, G. 

Printers. 

Lokey, E. R. 
La France, O. C. 

Oilers. 

Beck, E. C. 
Boebel, D. 
Bresnahan, D. 
Carson, L. R. 
Collier, P. L. 
Duffield, C. F. 
Ford, J. 
Fox, E. J . 
Gordon, V. O. 
Hamilton, P. 
Harris, W. N. 
Henkel, W. C. 
Hirstius, O. H. 
Kaeo, J. P. 
Keenan, W. J. 
Keller, P. J. 
Kurtz, P. W. 
Langley, L. H. 
Russom, A. 
Stein, H. 
Turner, M. 
Warner, "W. 
Williamson, G. 

Ship Fitters 2nd Class. 
Berg, A. C. 
Carson, W. T). 
Harding, E. L. 

Painters 2nd Class. 

Lamb, J. H. 

Yoeman 2nd Class. 

Chester, E. 
Hall, R. E. 
Varis, W. G. 

Ship's Cooks 2nd Class. 
Cox, C. W. 
Crouch, C. D. 

Masters at Arms 3rd Class. 
Francis, M. L. 
Pass, C. M. 
Shirley, P. H. , ,. 



Coxswains. 

Anderson, C. M. 
Anderson, W. 
Brown, S. H. 
Case, P. L. 
Champion, D. E. 
Chapman, W. D. 
Cross, E. J. 
Cunningham, H. C. 
DeGray, H. 
Pinstad, G. 'W. 
Gros, A. P. 
Harts, S. 
Henriksen, P. 
Jeanes, J. O., Jr. 
Lakin, C. F. 
O'Neill, J. 
Ryan, K. 
Sims, D. A. 
Smart, W. T. 
Spring, J. M. 

Gunner's Mates 3rd Class. 

Anderson, P. P. 
Bracken, W. H. 
Clark, R. 
Dunlevy, J. G. 
Garrity, J. E. 
Hortsman, H. C. P. 
Johnston, J. 
Koenig, W. F. C. 
Marrah, J. B. 
McMahan, J. O. 
Olson, H. J. 
Wylie, R. S. 

Quartermasters 3rd Class. 

Caldwell, J. F. 
Conyers, D. E. 
Hart, J. P. 
Kern, A. 
Munson, C. 
Nicholson, J. W. 
Zebley, G. J. 

Electricians 3rd Class^ 

Beach, F. L. 
Bufton, W. A. 
Garland, L. V. 
Jones, T. 
Rickell, R. C. 
Robbins, H. L. 
Ryan, J. L. 
Smith, W. W. 
Walk, H. K. 



100 



NINE MONTHS ON A CRUISE 



Carpenter's Mates 3rd Class. 

Earnest, G. C. 
Halford, G. W. 
Sandeen, R. 
Wuerl, J. 
Wolf, I. D. 

Painters 3rd Class. 

Woodward, S. J. 

Yeoman 3rd Class. 

Carter, R. A. 
Cunningham, O. H. 
Miller, O. 
McCain, 'W. E. 
Oliver, H. P. 
Worster, G. E. 

Hospital Apprentices 1st Class. 

Allen, P. O. 
Flay wood, J. W. 
Ijane, C. M. 
Roane, W. R. 
Swang-, L. W. 

Seamen. 
x^ndrews, J. S. 
Armbruster, D. F. 
Arnold, B. G. 
Baldwin, J. M. 
Barnard, E. F. 
Barnes, L. J. 
Barrett, D. E. 
Barrows, H. E. 
Biggs, C. K. 
Biggs, H. Li. 
Bosshardt, L. F. 
Brand, E. H. 
Brandon, J. W. 
Bray, L. 
Bremer, A. J. 
Briggs, A. W. 
Brimhall, W. R. 
Broadbent, C. S., Jr. 
Brotherton, J. S. S. 
Brown, W. S. 
Caldwell, M. L. 
Carter, C. D. 
Chilson, P. H. 
Clark, C. V. 
Cockrum, B. McM. 
Cook, C. H. 
Corell, C. F. 
Coriell, C. F. 
Coulter, W. M. 
Cruikshank, J. I. 



Davenport, W. T. 
Decker, E. R. 
Dees, L. J. 
Dideriksen, A. T. 
Dunbar, N. Jr. 
Dunning, ^Y. D. 
Emmett, R. 
Engelhardt, L. P. 
Fetter, J A 
Fleming, W. G. 
Fruge, O. N. 
Gamel, G. E. 
Gilbay, J. 
Gillman, K. L. 
Gilman, W. S. 
Gordon, H. 
Gotham, F. W. 
Hall, L. 

Harrison, G. R. 
Heggan, S. L. 
Hoffman, W. E. 
Hooper, L. W. 
Howard, W". N. 
Hunter, R. V. 
Imus, W. C. 
Ing, P. 

Jaswiee, P. T. 
Jenkins, R. B. 
Kennedy, G. F. 
Kerner, A. 
Lordrum, D. R. 
Lehmann, E. A. 
Leson, S. R. 
Love, E. R. 
Lusk, W. G. 
Lynch, C. P. 
Mannion, F. J. 
Manson, J. L. 
Marwood, D. H. 
Herbert, C. W. 
Meyer, E. E. 
Miller, L. E. 
Milligan, H. E. 
Molitor, P. 
Morrill, B. S. 
Murrell, J. B. 
Murry, M. 
McCartney, P. W. 
McDonald, C. H. 
McKenzie, J. L. 
Neubauer, R. 
Newby, A. J. 
Nicol, W. H. C. 
Nourse, G. R- 



AND EXPERIENCES IN NICARAGUA 



lOi 



Palmer, J. 
Pollock, H. H. 
Pritchard, W. H. 
Rhodes, J. W. 
Riley, A. 
Roache, N. J. 
Roeder, C. J. 
Ronsse, H. J. 
Ross, F. G.. 
Savage, G. W. 
Schaule, J. iV. 
Schmidt, J. 
Scott, H. J. 
Shankland, B. L. 
Sharkey, T. J. 
Sitaertson, H. A. 
Simmers, G. 
Smith, H. 
Smyth, F. J. 
Soch, F. ■ 

Spray, J. S. 
Sterrett, J R. 
Stevens, E. M. 
Thomas, T. F. 
Toennies, J. C. M. 
Vanderford, J. B. 
Viets, C. C. 
Warren, G. E. 
Welch, C. T. 
Welsh, J. E. 
White, C. 
White, C. S. 
Whitlock, R. B. 
Wiley, G. F. 
Willett, G. B. 
Wolf, W.- F. 
Worford, C. T. 

Firemen 1st Class. 

Adams, N. S. 
Barnes, D. 
Barry, D. 
Bradford, G. H. 
Brown, C. L. 
Burns, F. 
Buxel, C. E. 
Carlyon, J. E. 
Coen, C. B. 
Coffield, I. P. 
Connely, S. M. 
Cook, F. A. 
Cortterell, C. L. 
Coyle, A. A. 



Detlaff, A. L. 
Dodge, R. G. 
Dubee, A. 
Duerr, H. 
Edwards, P. H. 
Einhouse, H. 
Floyd, F. C. 
Ford, I. R. 
Franklin, B. T. 
Golden, G. V. 
Hopkins, N. C. 
Hulburt, F. .11. 
Ingold, H. 
Ingold, I. 
Karl, W. G. 
Kelley, P. W. 
Lanterman, J. E. 
Lewis, R. A. 
Lindgren, A. W. 
Linsted, B. 
Maciejewski, J. S. 
Mattson, N. B. 
Merrick, R. W. 
Moon, C. T. 
Moran, T. J. 
McDonald, T. 
McKown, D. F. 
Nave E. 
Neuman, A. N. 
Nicodemus, G. A. 
Patterson, C. G. 
Richardson, J. 
Richmond, C. C. 
Rivers, J. E. 
Roane, F. M. 
Robins, A. J. 
Scranton, C. O. 
Sheppard, W. T. 
Simon, C. W. , 
Smith, W. 
Sparkman, A. H. 
Stine, C. W. W. 
Swank, J. R. 
Til-ler, R. P. 
Todd, J. 
Vinson, E. S. 
Wapp, A. W. 
Wells, B. B. 
Whaley, B. L. 
Whyt, C. P. 
Wilkerson, W. F. 
Wright, F. E. 



102 



NINE MONTHS ON A CRUISE 



Musicians Ist Class. 

Bennage, R. L. 
Brannan, A. C, 
Contreras, B. 
Ci-aig, A. J. 
Davis, J. S. 
Fisher, R. 
Jake, E. F. 
Milam, F. A. 
Miller, F. 
Thomas, N. S. 

Ship's Cooks 3rd Class. 
Dunlap, C. L. 
Prill, O. R. 
McDonnall, R. 

Bakers 2nd Class. 
Hyre, S. M. 
LaLonde, R. E. 
Lamka, C. R. 
Rooney, J. A. 

Ordinary Seamen. 
Achen, B. G. 
Adams, C E. 
Agassiz, C. J. 
Allen, J. A. 
Anderson, A. C. 
Bachman, H. 
Bacon, E. C. 
Randel, J. DeR 
Barkley, W. L>. 
Bayliss, J. J. 
Beadle, W. D. 
Boggs, L. C. 
Bohks, P. 
Bostick, C. S. 
Bostick, S. P. 
Bowen, J. B. 
Bryant, H. J. 
Budinski, O. C. 
Burton, F. E. 
Busby, H. D. 
Butcher, R. E. 
Campbell, F. L. 
Cerise, R. H. 
Chriss, L. M. 
Claussen. W. C. 
Coker, O G. 
Collins, L. E. 
Compton, J. W. 
Cook, K. W. 
Coronado, M. S. 
Corrie, W. W. 
Daane, E. 



Dapper, R. P. 
Decker, A. L. 
Decker, P. S. 
Decker, P. S. 
Delaney, W. P. 
Denny, E. J. 
DeVore, N. L. 
Dodd, E. B. 
Dooley, J. C. 
Dowd, C. M. 
Downs, R. V. 
Edwards, P. H. 
Elbert, C. M. 
Elliott, H. B. 
Emmet, C. R. 
Evans, H. B. 
Everett, A. W. 
Faulk, M. A. 
Fatthauer, L. M. 
Ferguson, J. 
Fickes, J. F. 
Fike, M. D. 
Finks, O. D. 
Foster, T. H. 
Fowler, H. O. 
Gardner, V. P. 
Gasele, C. 
Graff, E. 
Greenwell, D. 
Hafford, D. D. 
Hanson, L. C. 
Hare, T. S. 
Harmon, B. F. 
Harmon, H. 
Harris, B. E. W. 
Harris, H. I. 
Harrison, J. A. 
Hearne, G. W. 
Hearne, J. H. 
Hickson, L. L. 
Hinnant, J. B. 
Homfleld, L. A. 
Hoskins. W. McK 
Houk, P. H. 
Hunter, J. 
Hunting, L. S. 
Johnson, C. S. 
Johnson, C. 
Johnson, S. L. 
Jones, C. E. 
Jones, P. K. 
Jorgensen, M. C. 
Keeler, M. L. 
Kendall, C. P. 



AND EXPERIENCES IN NICARAGUA 



103 



Kennedy, K. E. 
King, W. S. 
Kirk, H. D. 
Kirven, W. P. 
Koglmeier, G. H. 
Kostlevy, S. 
Lambert, J. B. 
Mackey, G. B. 
Mackey, F. J. 
Mann, G. W. 
Martilla, A. 
Martin, J. 
Mentsch, C. R. 
Miller, H. B. 
Minor, J. M. 
Mitchell, »F. C. 
Mooney, V. "W. 
Morgan, F. S. 
Morgan, P. L. 
Murphy, H. D. 
McDuffie, J. T. 
McGoorty, T. P. 
McGuire, M. 
McKenzie, S. 
McWhorter, H. R. 
Nagel, F. A. 
Norris, J. B. 
Orr, W. R. S. 
Parsons, A. J. 
Pemberton, H. "W. 
Phillips, W. P. 
Porter, J. F. 
Provost, L. J. 
Pulliam, H. H. 
Quinn, C. 
Rabe, W. A. 
Raine, G. L. 
Rainwater, H. E. 
Ray, H. M. 
Riggs, M. G. 
Rooney, M. J. 
Ross, E. 
Ross, J. 
Rowe, C. G. 
Russell, M. F. 
Schibush, F. 
Schroll, W. H. 
Scott, H. L. 
Seidel, O. H. 
Shappi, E. A. 
Showalter, C. O. 
Sigler, R. A. 
Smith, J. 
Snyder, J. 



Sorenson, J. J. 
Spell, S. 
Steffel, M. 
Stockman, D. T. 
Stout, O. 
Stuhr, E. A. 
Supernaw, J. A. 
Swisher, J. A. 
Sylvester, C. L. 
Tarrants, L. R. 
Taylor, E. N. 
Tilton, W. F. 
Trankle, W. S. 
Traynor, P. A. 
Tucker, J. 
Veatch, L. 
Waldie, G. W. 
Wallace, R. S. 
Ward, J. L. 
Watkins, S. E. 
Watkins, W. R. 
Weikert, J. G. 
Wester, T. 
Whalen, F. G. 
Wheat, C. 
Wilcox, N. E. 
Willcox, H. 
Williams, C. L. 
Williams, R. 
Wilson, J. 
Young, C. W. 

Firemen 2nd Class. 

Binns, C. 
Bowker, B. G. 
Brown, J. N. 
Bunker, J. L. 
Call, W. F. 
Carpenter, T. J. 
Clancy, T. W. 
Clark, Z. P. 
Collins, J. F. 
Bmberly, J. B. 
Emmons, B. R. 
Ferris, J. 
Foster, S. Jr. 
Frid, J. E. 
Fuller, E. 
Garmes, J. 
Georgie, W. 
Hambrick, H. C. 
Harris, W. 
Henshasv, G. A. 
Hill, E. B. 



104 



NINE MONTHS ON A CRUISE 



Huffit, C. E. 
Hutchison, G. R. 
Johnson, C. W. 
Joseph J. 
Kelly, R. J. 
Kline, A. R. 
Krauthouse, C. 
Laird, C. H. 
Logan, S. A. 
Lucas, W. C. 
Mahanna, C. E. 
Mattews, L. A. 
Michall, D. M. 
Mikowski, L. 
Miles, E. B. 
Miller, W. D. 
Morg-art, J. S. 
Moser, G. E. 
Murphy, J. J. 
Myers, R. M. 
McCarthy, E. 
Nicholson, H. 
Page, C. R. 
Powelson, M. V. 
Purpora, L. N. 
Redmond, W. B. 
Rentz, S. 
Small, B. R. 
Smith, J. L. 
Snell, W. B. 
Spriggs, S. 
Squires, R. R. 
Styles, W. 
Tegert, H. S. 
Temple, W. 
Thisges, A. J. 
Tilley, B. M. 
Trine, C. 
Turnage, W. Z. 
Walton, C. B. 
Weber, H. F. 
Weis, T. T. 
Weissenback, A. L. 
Westover, W. J. 
Whitmore, S. K. 
Wright, H. 
Zume, J. C. 

Shipwrights. 

McGuire, R. 

Musicians 2nd Class. 

Alexander, A. R. 
Amistoso, I. 
Clamar, E. 



Davidson, B. C. 
Eahart, C. H. 
Fletcher, H. C. 
Cronenberger, R. P. 
Grepo, A. 
Kline, N. B. 
Llshman, C. J. 
Lowe, J. E. 
Patterson, H. L. 
Ricafrente, J. 
Tolentino, R. 
Trias, M. B. 

Buglers. 
Bonhard, W. F. 
Harwood, J. C. 

Hospital Apprentices. 

Dean, C. M. 
Johnson, A. J. 

Ship's Cooks 4th Class. 

Conn, H. W.° 
Ireland, H. V. 
Maxon. V. D. 
Port, J. H., Jr. 
Ray, J. E. 
Walker, B. 
Watson, R. 

Coal Passers. 

Allen B. 

Allensworth, G. H. 
Bacon, A. W. 
Baker, G. F. 
Ban nan, J. A. 
Bean, C. N. 
Bechtel, R. M., Jr. 
Beyerle, P. W. 
Bigoness, "W. 
Bigos, C. 
Borgeson, A. C. 
Boyer, L. L. 
Bradshaw, W. R. 
Brock, C. E. 
Chalfant, C. L. 
Clifford, H. W. 
Connor, C. E. 
Cure, H. 

Davenport, W. E. 
DeBruler, G. M. 
Degraw, P. C. 
Dempsey, J. 
Docken, T. M. 
Doty, N. B. 
Doubek, J. 



AND EXPERIENCES IN NICARAGUA 



105 



Doxsen, H. L. 
Eberhardt, G. W. 
Elliott, W. F. 
Bnnis, C. T. 
Pagan, M. J. 
Flanagan, J. M. 
Frey, C. C. 
Friedman, S. 
Friend, H. 
Germain, A. A. 
Gessner, J. 
Guig-ery, B. L. 
Graham, R. H. 
EiTay, "W. F. 
Hilliar, A. B. 
Hogan, J. T. 
Hooper, M. J. 
Jolly, E. P. 
Kamm, R. 
Kekacs, S. J. 
Kelly, S. M. 
Kelly, "W. 
Klepp, H. C. 
Knoll, F. B. 
Kruszka, F. J. 
T^atchum, C. H. 
Lent, M. B. 
Lewis, R. E. 
Tiowe, T. L. 
McFarlane, F. H. C. 
Maddison, J. U. 
Man gum, A. Z. 
Meyers, J. 
Minner, G. 
Minnon, V. J. 
Moore, J. E. 
Moore, W. F. 
Moore, T. F. 
Murphy, P. 
McDaniel, H. P. 
McGough, T. J. 
McMenomay, E. 
McNamara, T. E. 
Nelson, R. 
Nicholson, B. 
Nixon, T. H. 
Nolette, J. A. 
Norton, L. B. 
O'Brien, B. F. 
O'Connell, J. J. 
O'Donoghoe, T. H. 
Phelan, T. 
Plummer, C, C 
Posser, C. 



Puklavage, W. A. 
Quinn, W.' J. 
Rose, C. W. 
Rudel, B. 
Sabacky, J. 
Schaefer, J. E. 
Schell, E. F. 
Schmidth, J. J. 
Schneider, F. A. 
Schuergers, P. J. 
Schwingen, E. 
Seaman, ■ E. 
Shallcross, J. C. 
Shores, L. J. 
Smith, H. J. 
Smith, H. V. 
Sollers, H. R. 
Stader. J. 
Thompson, W. V. 
Tolles, H. H. 
Vaughn, W. 
Ward, J. E. 
Wardle, J. E. 
Weaver. O. 
Whleeher, J. B. 
Winters, A. 
Withers, A. 
Woodard, W. 

Stewards to Commander-in-Chief. 
Kow, L. 

Cooks to Commander-in-Chief. 
Weng, W. W. 

Cabin Stewards. 
Mihamoto, S. 

Cabin Cooks. 
Oka, T. 

Wardroom Stewards. 
Kunimatz, M. 
Ozoma, E. 

Wardroom Cooks. 
Chung Ah 
Pow, K. 

Steerage Stewards. 
White, G. L. 

Steerage Cooks. 
Gana, J. 

Warrant Officers Stewards. 
Foo Ah 
Over, J. A. 

Mess Attendants 1st Class. 
Blanco, S. 
Hong Der. 



106 



NINE MONTHS ON A CRUISE 



Mess Attendants 2nd Class. 

Angelo, A. 
Angquico, A. 
Banting-, A. 
Billi, P. 
Darvin, V. 
Guei'rero, J. 
Irineo, R. 
Jardin, P. 
Jayme, A. 
Jhrusalem, J. 
Morato, J. 
Ricohernioso, S. 
Ruiz, Q. 
Salas, T. 
Toy Num 

Mess Attendants 3rd Class. 

Aballa, P. 
Ala, P. 
Ale d la, F. 
Baza, M. 
Beluz, G. 
Cainap, E. 
Cameros, U. 
Cespedes, D. 
Chin, P. J. 
Fran, T. 

Francisco, T. E. 
Geporta, H. 
Melgar, M. 
Navarro, M. 
Panuncio, P. 
Parilla, G. 
Picardal, V. 
Reyes, G. 
Rubio, M. M. 
Sevilla, C. M. 

First Sergeants. 

Dickerson, A. 
Whalen, J. P. 

Sergeants. 

Albrig-ht, G. 
Lindenberger, C. M. 
Marovitz, M. 
Warrell, G. 
Goss, P. H. 
Huefe, E. G. 

Corporals. 

Button, J. H. 

Carkenord, R. C. , 

Clement, O. 

Hayes, J. L. 

Hayes. J. P. 

Hill, P. A. 

Irwin, B. 

Lawrenson, H. Li. 

Wayt, L. G. 

Wallace, J. D. 

York, B. A. 

Johns, D. H. 



Drummer. 



Pong-er, O. S. 



Palls, G. W. 



Abhy. W. T. 
Anderson, B. 



Trumpeter. 
Privates, 



Austin, C. B. 

Bell, G. H. 

Benchea, G. 

Black, E. 

Brofft, A. R. 

Button, D. 

Chlrip, P. 

Clayton, G. M. 

Campbell, J. E. 

Cunningham, J. M. 

Day, W. H. 

Dirksen, R. F. 

Drake, F. E. 

Edwards, H. 
/Evans, T. 

Feinweb, M. 

Flowers, T. A. 

Froelich, W. G. 

Puller, C. H. 

Garner, V. I. 

Gehrke, G. 

Gilder, J. 

Grey, J. F. 

Grimm, B. F. 

Grogan, R. R. 

Hall, F. E. 

Hardcastle, W. 

Harris, F. L. 

Henschell, G. S. 

Howard, F. E. 

Hudson, H. 

Johnson, R. L. 

Ketchum, J. O. 

Langan, L. 

Leiser, L. F. 

Lewis, A. O. 

Lewis, H. A. 

Lockwood, H. M. 

Long, E. R. 

Lutters, J. 

MacAlpine, M. D. 

Mahoney, R. J. 

Matthews, E. J. 

Mattson, E. M. 

Meibos, L. 

Menge, S. F. 

Morris, M. F. 

Mullen, J. 

Noddin, C. C. 

Peters, F. V. 

Peterson, W. J. 

Rice, H. R. 

Reno, F. 

Rogers, A. P. 

Root, J. M. 
.Rose, R. R. 

Rountree, C. A. 

Russell, R. A. 

Schramm, R. R, 

Stern, R. P. 

Thomas, E. W. 

Tolner, B. D. 

Tomb, W. R. 

Tucker, J. A. 

Voelk, F. D. 

Warner, L. R. 

Weanus, M. J. 

Willey, T. 

Wilson, D. S. 

Yeakle, W. A. 



NOTE 

As the actual making of this book had not been finished when 
we were so suddenly ordered to Nicaragua, it is considered desir- 
able to place between its covers a brief description of our life on 
shore in a country in the throes of civil war. ' W. E. R. 

Corinto, Nicaragua, November 10, 1912, U. S. S. California. 



EXPERIENCES IN NICARAGUA 



The California arrived in San Diego harbor on August 19th, 
the usual liberty was granted the crew, and a number of the officers 
and men had been granted leave of absence. 

At about two o'clock in the afternoon of August 21st, the 
Commander-in-Chief received a telegram from Washington which 
started everyone moving at a lively pace. Officers were sent ashore 
to notify the men on liberty to return at once, a baseball gamo in 
progress between the teams of the California and the Iris was 
stopped — with the Iris well ahead, — stores that had been ordered 
were either hurried on board or left behind, and preparations of 
all kinds were going on in order that the ship might sail at the 
earliest possible moment. 

At 5 p. m., we went outside and anchored off Coronado, and 
at 10 p. m. we were off on the long run to Nicaragua, which coun- 
try was again in the turmoil of civil eonflict. 

As the fighting between the government forces and the rebels 
had assumed alarming proportions, our minister to Nicaragua had 
asked that a force be sent there large enough to protect the lives 
of American and other foreigners, and to prevent the loot and 
pillage of their propety. 

The Admiral's orders directed him to be prepared to so dis- 
pose the forces under his command on arrival at Corinto, the prin- 
cipal port in Western Nicaragua, as best to serve the purpose out- 
lined above. 

We anchored off Corinto at one o'clock on the afternoon of 
August 2 8th and the Commanding Officers of the Annapolis and 
Denver reported on board to inform the Commander-in-chief of 
existing conditions and to receive orders as to the disposal of the 
forces under their command. 

After consultation, it was decided to at once land as large a 
force as possible, and orders were immediately issued to that effect. 
At 2:45 the California's landing force began to load their equip- 



2a NINE MONTHS ON A CRUISE 

ment on the Annapolis and a lighter which she had in tow. 

At 5:30 the Commander-in-Chief shifted his flag to the An- 
napolis, taking with him the following members of his staff: 
Major C. S. Hill, U. S. M. C, Fleet Marine Officer, as Aid to the 

Commander, Expeditionary Force, 
Lieutenant Commander W. D. Leah^, U. S. N., Fleet Ordnance 

Officer, 
Surgeon C. M. DeValin, U. S. N., Fleet Surgeon, 
Lieutenant R. L. Ghormley, U. S. N., Flag Lieutenant and, later. 
Lieutenant (j. g. ) C. G. Davy, Flag Secretary. 

At 6 p. m. the California's force had been landed, and, with 
the force from the Annapolis and Denver, was entrained and left 
Corinto at 4:30 a. m. on the 29th to take temporary positions. At 
this time the force landed from the California consisted of 17 
officers, 274 bluejackets and 6 5 marines. They took with them 
besides the regular equipment of rifles and revolvers, 4 Colt guns 
and one three-inch fleld piece. 

At 10 a. m. on the 24th, the California was dispatched to Pan- 
ama to bring from that place to Corinto the First Provisional Regi- 
ment of Marines, which had been gathered together on the east 
coast, send down on the Prairie and across the Isthmus of Panama, 
and this regiment, with Major Butler's battalion of Marines from 
Panama and the companies landed from the ships, formed the 
marine expeditionary force. 

Meanwhile, the California's marines were stationed at Posel- 
tega and the bluejackets encamped near Leon, Patrols and guards 
were established at close intervals along the line of railroad which 
it was necessary that we should control and operate in order that 
our forces might be uninterruptedly supplied with food, and also 
to prevent its destruction by either of the opposing forces in the 
fleld. 

Within our ranks were found men who ran the engines, acted 
as trainmen, section gangs, repair gangs, linemen, and, in fact, 
took complete charge of the maintenance and operation of this 
railroad. Much work was immediately necessary to place the 
tracks and rolling stock in serviceable condition. 

The damage already done by the rebels to bridges and equip- 
ment was first hastily, and then in a more thorough manner, re- 
paired, and trains were kespt running at fairly regular intervals 
while this work was being done. 

On September 1st the collier Prometheus and the supply ship 
Glacier arrived. On board the Glacier was Commander T. A. 
Traut, U. S. N., who had been ordered to relieve Lieutenant Com- 



EXPERIENCES IN NICARAGUA 3a 

niander W. McDowell as executive officer of the California, several 
officers and a number of men who had been left ashore on leave. 

When the California returned with the Marines, on September 
4 th, the railroad was in good condition to carry them to their posts. 
All hands worked until three o'clock on the morning of the 5th 
to get the men and equipment landed. One battalion, under com- 
mand of Colonel J. H. Pendleton, U. S. M. C, was landed immedi 
ately on arrival, entrained and, at 3 p. m. on the 5th started for 
Managua, though they had to wait near the bridge beyond Leon 
until joined by the rest of the regiment. 

The railroad runs through the outskirts of Leon, the largest city 
in Nicaragua, with a population of about 40,000. It was necessary 
to strongly guard the railroad propertj;: at this point because the 
Leonese were very bitter against what they regarded as an unwar- 
ranted intrusion on our part. 

They did not, at this time, resist our taking control of the rail- 
road property in that vicinity. 

At 9 a. m. on the 5th, the California was sent to San Juan del 
Sur to relieve the Denver in guarding the interests of foreigners 
in that port, and keeping cable communication open. A small force 
was kept on shore here at all times. 

The railroad was now under our control and operation between 
Corinto and Managua the capital of Nicaragua. 

No armed forces of either party were permitted to use it. Our 
efforts were at all times directed, during our stay in Nicaragua, to- 
ward the carrying out of our orders to protect American and other 
foreign lives and property — peaceably, if possible, by force if nec- 
essary, so we were very careful not to do anything to arouse either 
the Liberals or Federals, though taking care to impress upon all 
the reasons why we were there. 

It is of course understood that without the control of the 
railroad it would have been impossible to accomplish our purpose. 

Because of the poor condition of the railroad and its equip- 
ment, minor accidents were of frequent occurrence, but only one 
fatality occurred, during our operation of the road, M'hen, on Sep- 
tember 8th, Jose Morata, a Filipino mess attendant, fell from a 
train which was being switched, was run over and his legs cut off 
at the thighs. The unfortunate boy died almost immediately, from 
the shock. 

Until September ISth our time was occupied in perfecting our 
organization to handle any situation that might arise. Many com- 
plaints made by foreigners against one party or the other were 
looked into and settled — the complaint most frequently heard be- 
ing that the rebels would endeavor to forcibly "tax" them financial- 



4a NINE MONTHS ON A CRUISE 

ly or otherwise for aid for their cause. 

Battles, skirmishes, and minor encounters between the Fed- 
erals and Liberals were of daily occurrence. Many of them were 
plainly to be seen from the passing trains, though the combatants 
usually kept well away from the immediate vicinity of the railroad. 

Important work was going quietly forward in the sanitation 
of the camps and towns, under the direction of our Medical Of- 
ficers and the Hospital Corps. Due to their efficient precautions, 
tropical ailments were kept well under control, and the conditions 
in all towns under our supervision were greatly improved. At no 
time was there any epidemic; in fact there was not a single death 
occasioned by disease. 

The populace of Masaya and Granada, two important towns 
beyond the capital, reached by the railroad, was threatened by 
famine and various disorders, and it became more necessary than 
ever to take charge of and operate the railroad to its end just be- 
yond Granada, thus permitting the Red Cross supplies which were 
available for distribution to those people to be carried to them. 
It was also considered most desirable to have under our control 
the engines and cars known to be in those towns, so that we might 
forward the accumulation of freight piled up in the warehouses 
at Corinto, which was being increased by part of the cargo of every 
steamer which arrived; and also to carry out in entirety the plan 
of keeping communication open. 

That he might be close to the scene of possible future opera- 
tions the Commander-in-Chief, accompanied by his staff, on Sep- 
temper 17th departed, by train, for Managua where he established 
temporary headquarters in the United States Legation which were 
placed at his disposal by the American Minister. Upon arriving 
in the capital the Admiral found that Colonel Pendleton and Major 
Butler, who had been directed to proceed with his battalion of 
Panama Marines to open up and hold the railroad enroute to 
Masaya and Granada, were waiting for him at Campuzano which 
is on the Managua side of the famous Barranca and Coyotepe. In 
In order to reach Masaya, the train carrying Major Butler and his 
men would have to pass through a cut between these hills — the 
Barranca and Coyotepe — and these points were in the possession 
of the rebel General Zeledon who had strongly fortified them. 
They were considered impregnable by the Federals who had made 
occasional desultory attempts to capture them. 

A message was sent to General Zeledon explaining that Major 
Butler's train would have to pass through the cut without moles- 
tation, and also indicating why we wished to get through. Gen- 
eral Zeledon replied that if Major Butler's train attempted to pass 



EXPERIENCES IN NICARAGUA 5a 

it would be attacked. Tliat was putting it squarely up to us, so the 
Commander-in-Cliief directed that Major Butler delay his start a 
day, moved our combined forces up to a favorable position for at- 
tack, and then notified General Zeledon that, if a guarantee of 
absolute non-molestation on the part of the rebels were not re- 
ceived by a certain hour, our forces would open fire and drive them 
from their positions. Two minutes before our artillery was to 
open fire the rebel representative rushed up to Colonel Pendleton's 
battle station and said that the train could go through unhamed, 
and that we could open up communication through these positions 
and continue to hold it open without hindrance of any kind from 
them. While the train was passing through Masaya, shortly after 
dusk, a group of men mounted on horseback fired on it, wouad- 
ing four of our men. This appeared to be a prearranged signal as 
unseen parties, from the doors and windows of the buildings in 
that vicinity, began shedding bullets in our direction. Our forces 
returned the fire in the dark, and it may be safely said that a great 
number of those in the treacherous ambuscade did not live to tell 
the story of this fight in the dark. No further harm was done our 
force, and the train proceeded on its way. General Zeledon was of 
course considered responsible for this act, but, as was to be ex- 
pected, he denied all knowledge of it. 

Shortly after the arrival of our forces at Granada, the rebel Gen- 
eral Mena turned over all railroad, telephone and telegraph prop- 
erty to our forces and, late, surrendered his positions and all his 
forces and arms. 

With the situation under control the Red Cross supplies were 
brought in and distributed to the starving people of Granada and 
Masaya, and our own provisions were used to succor the distressed. 

Mena's surrender to Admiral Southerland left Zeledon, in his 
fortifications, and the Leonese at Leon, as the only remaining dis- 
turbing elements for the Federals to overcome, and the only two 
menacing positions along the railroad. 

The Commander-in-Chief demanded that Zeledon evacuate his 
position, in which he was a constant menace to the safe operation 
of the railroad. General Zeledon refused to comply with this de- 
mand and thus, again, placed us in an untenable position. After 
further consideration the Admiral informed General Zeledon that 
if he had not evacuated his position by 8 a. m. on October 3rd our 
forces must attack his position. Zeledon again refused, stating that 
he would fight. 

Promptly at 8 a. m. on October 3rd, Major Butler opened fire 
with his field guns. At 5 a. m. on the morning of the 4th the rest 
of our forces had reached their positions for attack, and at 5:18 



6a NINE MONTHS ON A CRUISE 



our combined forces assaulted Coyotepe, rushing up tlie liill in the 
face of a fierce fire from the rebels. 

This baptism of fire, which struck down here and there a com- 
rade, filled the air with its murderous voice of hate and defiance, 
and created within our charging ranks a wild desire to get to the 
top of the hill and put a stop to senseless slaughter. The engage- 
ment lasted thirty-seven minutes and left us in possession of Zele- 
don's position with none to dispute our right to be there. Zeledon 
had, the day before this action, transferred his headquarters to 
Masaya. When on the 4th our forces attacked his position, he 
endeavored to escape toward the Costa Rican boundarJ^ but was, 
with a number of his generals, pursued and all the party captured, 
— Zeledon dying of his wounds within an hour after his capture. 

Though we were victorious, there was no joy to be found in 
our victory for our Flag planted on top of Coyotepe looked down 
upon many slain and wounded, and some of our comrades were 
among them. We lost four men: 

Private Ralp Bobbett, Co. "B",lst Battalion, U. S. M. C, 
Private Charlie H. Durham, Co. "C", 1st Battalion, U. S. M. C, 
Private Clarence H. McGill, Co. "C", 1st Battalion, U. S. M. C, 
Private Harry Pollard, Co. "C", 1st Battalion, U. S. M. C, 
killed, and the following were wounded: 

Second Lieutenant G. W. Martin, Co. "C", 1st Battalion, U. S. 
M. C, 

Sergeant A. P. Sherburne, Co. "C", 1st Battalion, U. S. M. C, 
Private William Harvey, Co. "C"/ 1st Battalion, U. S. M. C, 
Private Alfred Lunder, Co. "C", 1st Battalion, U. S. M. C, 
T. P. McGoorty, ordinary seaman, U. S. Navy, U. S. S. Cali- 
fornia. 

Upon learning of our loss, the citizens of Granada informed 
the Commander-in-Chief that they would esteem it an honor if 
he would permit the remains of our dead to be interred in ground 
set apart by the city for that purpose. This offer was declined 
with sincere thanks, as the Admiral felt it proper that our com- 
rades should be laid to rest in our own cemetery. 

Impressive funeral ceremonies were conducted, by Chaplain 
Fleming of the California, at Camp Weitzel which is situated on a 
hill overlooking the city of Managua. These services were at- 
tended by the President of Nicaragua, his Cabinet, other high of- 
ficials, many prominent people, native and foreign, and by the 
Commander-in-Chief, staff, and all our officers and men in Managua. 
Immediately after the services the dead were escorted to the 
train by a full battalion, through streets lined by masses of natives 



EXPERIENCES IN NICARAGUA 7a 

who had never before known that in any nation, lionors are ren- 
dered the dead soldier. On arrival at the station the remains were 
entrained, and left under full military honors — the caskets strewn 
with flowers gathered by the comrades of the dead. 

An incident occurred at Chichigalpa, another of our posts, on 
the morning of the 4th when Lieutenant E. C. Long, U. S. M. C, 
marched his company up to the quartel at that place in search of 
dynamite bombs rumored to be in concealment there. As they ap- 
proached the cuartel, a considerable mob of rebels soldiers and 
others armed with rifles and machetes, closed in and fired on our 
men, wholly disregarding the orders of their officers to the con- 
trary. Their fire was promptly returned by our men, and thirteen 
of the rebels killed, and five of our men wounded, as a result of 
the skirmish. 

Four dynamite bombs were discovered. 

It now became necessary to enter Leon and render that city, 
by pur occupation, a point no longer menacing the line of com- 
munication, with which event the disorders in the largest city of 
Nicaragua would end. On Ocober 6th our forces entered the city 
from various points. This entrance was forcibly resisted by or- 
ganized bands of rebels which were soon dispersed, but not until 
during the scattered fighting, three more of our comrades and 
shipmates: 

Roy G. Morgan, turret captain first class, U. S. S. Colorado, 
D. H. Bourgeois, ordinary seaman, U. S. Colorado, and 
Private John Bartell, Co. "D", 1st Provisional Regiment, U. 
S. M. C, were killed, and three men were wounded: 

Private F. Kittsmiller, U. S. M. C, U. S. S. Colorado, 
P. D. Lancer, ordinary seaman, U. S. N., U S. S. Colorado, and 
Trumpeter Louis Baiter, U. S. M., Co. "G", 1st Provisional 
Regiment 

Military honors were rendered those who died in this engage- 
ment and their bodies, with those of the men who were killed at 
Coyotepe, were sent to San Francisco on the P. M. S. S. San Juan. 
The engagement at Leon was the last in which we were forced 
to do any fighting, and from this time on our forces were engaged 
in performing routine duties, standing by for any need that might 
arise for tlieir services. 

The control of the railroad was gradually restored to the 
hands of its owners, they relieving our men with civil employees as 
fast as they could secure them. We retained, by permission, one 
man on each train to look after the safe delivery of our mail to 
our camps. The control of all the towns held by us from Granada 
to Corinto was gradually turned over to the Federal olRcials — 



8a NINE MONTHS ON A CRUISE 



under our military supervision. The rebels, granted amnesty by 
President Diaz, disbanded, turned in their arms, and returned 
to their ordinary pursuits. The government army was much re- 
duced in numbers, and the people, as a whole, seemed determined 
to now settle down to promote the development of a peaceful pros- 
perity in this magnificent country. 

A touching and significant tribute, which will make clear to 
the readers as, perhaps, nothing else could the conditions existing 
in this beautiful land in time of civil strife, follows: 

(Translation) 

Granada, Nicaragua, October 11, 1912. 
To Admiral Southerland, 

Honorable Sir: 

Daughters of this beloved soil which God has endowed with 
a prodigality of beauty and natural riches, we would feel happy 
and contented if we had the tranquility indispensable for the de- 
velopment and well-being of the family; but, unfortunately, civil 
conflicts have resulted in weakening the ties which in every civilized 
country are considered sacred and which maintain the stability of 
all well-organized society, which cannot exist without due respect 
for life and property. 

These conflicts have been each day more stubborn and bloody, 
the bitterness each day greater, and the loss each time more irre- 
parable, bringing about a division so deep in the Nicaraguan fam- 
ily that the most perverse elements dominated in this city and it 
fell to our lot to live in a state of horror and fright in which the 
mother, the daughter, the wife and the sister saw themselves each 
moment threatened with the loss of all they 'held most dear, of 
their subsistence, of the most necessary things even for the life 
of the children, with the loss of their own honor. 

It is for this, seeing the prolongation of the recent conflict 
which was growing fiercer each day, that we celebrated with en- 
thusiasm your arrival on the shores of Nicaragua as an omen that 
soon our ills would cease. Our hopes were fulfilled, inasmuch as 
you have given with wonderful rapidity the peace and tranquility 
that we so much longed for. 

On account of the shortness of your stay in this city, we were 
not able to express to you personally our gratitude and profound 
esteem, so we send you a bouquet of flowers from our gardens, 
which in their perfume carry for you and your great and generous 
country the tenderest feelings of the women of Granada. 

The judgment and prudence with which your worthy subor- 
dinate officer. Major S. D. Butler, U. S. M. C, has executed his 



AND EXPERIENCKS IN NICARAGUA 9a 

mission in this city gives credit to tlie liigh efficiency of tlie officers 
and tlie morals and discipline of the American forces. 

Already we have enjoyed for these few days real peace and 
tranquility with the stay of the American forces in our midst. It 
is for us to express the desire that our elder sister — the great Re- 
public of the United States — so wise, so powerful, will bring to us 
permanently the -benefits which all her sons- enjoy throughout all 
her vast and peaceful domain. 

With assurances of the highest and most distinguished con- 
sideration, we remain, 

Your most obedient servants, 
(Subscribed to with the names of two hundred and sixteen (216) 

ladies of Granada.) 

If our presence gave to the women of Nicaragua the peace of 
mind described above, one may easily understand what a comfort 
it must have been to the Americans and other foreigners in that 
country whose lives and property we had been sent to protect. 

During the last few quiet days of our stay, parties under com- 
mand of Captain W. A. Gill, U. S. Navy, commanding the Colorado, 
and Captain A. S. Halstead, U. S. Navy, commanding the California, 
made various reconnaissances on horseback into the interior of the 
country, and visited some of the large estates where bananas, coffee, 
rubber, cattle, etc., are raised on a large scale. 

The members of these parties gave glowing accounts, on their 
return, of passing through glorious scenery to a bounteous hos- 
pitality extended them by the proprietors of the estancias. 

On October- 24th the embarkation of our forces commended 
with the withdrawal of the landing forces of the Cleveland and 
Denver, which vessels sailed for home on theh 25th and 26th, re- 
spectively. 

On November 12th the last of our forces had been returned 
to our ships, leaving only the Marines of the Provisional Regiment 
to be carried back later by the Buffalo, except the detachment to 
remain at Managua as a guard to the United States Legation until 
the tranquility of the country is absolutely assured. 

On November 13th, the Commander-in-Chief entertained the 
President of Nicaragua and his Cabinet at a farewell luncheon on 
board the Flagship California, and at 4:15 p. m. on November 14th, 
the fleet, consisting of the California, Colorado and Maryland, 
sailed for San Diego and home. 

We now look forward again to target practice — navy yard — 
?nd furloughs. 

May our dreams at last come true. 
THE END. 



DEC 24^ m^ 



